The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

Two-way immersion (TWI) programs teach English Learners (ELs) and native English speakers in the same classroom using both languages in an immersion approach. Studies suggest that TWI programs result in greater student integration, thus providing a promising alternative for Spanish speaking ELs, who are frequently concentrated in high poverty,…

Austin Independent School District used $16 million in federal funds to support 25 ARRA IDEA projects to reduce the student academic achievement gap, reduce disproportionality, reduce dropout, improve district processes, improve teacher quality, and evaluate programs.

This study focused on approaches to curriculum, as well as school, principal, and student characteristics in secondary day treatment and residential psychiatric schools. A national random sample of 148 principals responded to a survey. No statistically significant differences existed between respondent and nonrespondent schools with regard to…

The report summarizes a study of the individualization process for teaching handicapped students. Relationships were examined among three forms of the individual plan: the contractual plan, as written in the individualized education program (IEP) document; the phenomenological plan, the teacher's intent for the program; and the empirical plan, the…

Discusses the use of individualized education programs in making literacy an integral part of the typewriting curriculum. (JOW)

Both segregated and desegregated school models for severely handicapped students are considered, and an individualized transition plan is proposed. Among the plan's major components are that it must be comprehensive, involve parents and guardians, require actual participation of both sending and receiving personnel, and include the focused…

The study examined the perceptions of 1,638 secondary individualized education program (IEP) meeting participants from 393 IEP meetings across 3 consecutive years. Results indicate significant differences between the survey answers and participant roles, when students did or did not attend their IEP meetings, and when different professional team…

The computer-managed IEP systems described in this article provide a good sample of what is currently available. After previewing several of them and reviewing the rest, the authors believe that these types of systems have the potential to benefit teachers, administrators, and parents as well as students. They create reports in a more timely and…

School counselors provide a variety of services to students with disabilities, and becoming involved in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process is an opportunity through which school counselors can demonstrate their unique contributions. The authors highlight specific skills (e.g., group facilitation, consultation) and developmental…

The responsibility for providing safe transportation for travelers seated in wheelchairs is shared by many stakeholders, including wheelchair and tiedown/restraint manufacturers, vehicle modifiers and equipment installers, transit providers, rehabilitation technology suppliers, wheelchair/seating clinicians, and even informed and responsible…

The current standards-based reform movement, which emphasizes teaching academic skills to all students, holds promise for students with disabilities. However, there is concern that this movement's sole focus on academic skills will leave less room for teaching self-determination skills. One possible solution is to identify interventions that can…

The key to a well-written, well-reasoned Individualized Education Program (IEP) is clearly identifying and writing measurable goals and objectives. The single most important part of that process is identifying and understanding a student's needs. This essential first step is the best way to prepare for the search that will produce the most…

Despite federal regulations requiring measurable individualized education programs (IEPs), IEPs are often vague and unfocused, making them difficult to use in guiding instructional planning. Although a well-written IEP can be time consuming and labor intensive, a clearly written IEP, based on documented student needs, can and should be a guidepost…

This article examines findings on student perceptions of individual interventions based on the principles of universal design for learning (UDL). The examination includes a comparison of the reported perceptions of mainstreamed students with high incidence disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, or other health impairments…