Teacher accountability has been a major strategy for "fixing" education for the last 2 decades. In this book, Cochran-Smith and her research team argue that it is time for teacher educators to reclaim accountability by adopting a new approach that features intelligent professional responsibility, challenges the structures and processes…

A wide variety of legislation impacts the jobs of special education teachers in the United States. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law, mandating that states develop standards and report outcomes for all students in the key areas of math and reading. In 2004, the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education…

Research indicates that the trend of students with disabilities choosing to attend college is continually increasing. However, research also suggests that this population may be ill prepared to meet the increased academic demands and level of independence needed at the college level. Research in the field indicates that high schools may not be…

Most states have developed or revised school accountability systems in response to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). While these systems include multiple indicators, to many stakeholders the outcome of central interest is the overall rating or classification produced for each school. These ratings are often used to identify schools that merit…

Since the enactment of P.L. 94-142, the predecessor legislation to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in 1975, the federal government has played a prominent role in encouraging the principle of educational equality for children with disabilities through a permanent, broad-scale federal assistance program. The IDEA is a grants…

The term severe disabilities refers to any student who is eligible for special education services in the United States under the category of moderate to severe cognitive impairment. The term takes into consideration a combination of shortages in both cognitive performance and appropriate behavior. Recently, in the field of severe disabilities, the…

Policymakers at the state and federal levels have expressed concern over the emerging "skills gap"--the mismatch between the job skills employers are looking for and the skills that applicants in the labor market possess. The skills gap is most acute for middle-skilled jobs; that is, jobs that require training beyond high school but less…

This hearing is the first of six hearings the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold to make sure that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is being implemented in the way it was written in the states and school districts. The hearing focuses on the perspective of education leaders. After an opening statement from Honorable…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) changed federal teacher policy in a number of important ways. This article uses No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Race to the Top, NCLB waivers, and ESSA to detail these shifts. Since ESSA is in the early phase of implementation, we analyze the policy through the lens of previous empirical work as a way of…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to (a) explore state-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency expectations for counselor engagement with business, (b) determine what VR counselors are actually doing in terms of interacting with businesses, and (c) identify challenges VR counselors experience to working with business. Method: A…

The Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (29 U.S.C. Sec 2202(2)) defines AT as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." Instructional Technology (IT), a term not…

The primary objective of this paper is to help institutions respond to the stipulation of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 by adopting cost-effective academic integrity solutions without compromising the convenience and flexibility of online learning. Current user authentication solutions such as user ID and password, security…

The new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), envisions a powerful role for states in managing the evidence base behind school improvement efforts. Not only must they certify that interventions meet the "evidence-based" requirements spelled out in the law, they also must monitor and evaluate federally funded…

Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (now The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), requires all children with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The LRE requirement means that students with disabilities, to the maximum extent possible, should be educated in the general…

An important aspect of the community college mission is to educate working adults including those without a high school diploma or its equivalent. Three important changes are forcing community colleges to reevaluate how these services and activities are delivered as well as policies that govern this critical work. These shifts provide a new…