This introductory article to a special series discusses requirements under the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to base behavioral intervention planning and positive behavioral support on information obtained through a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) process. The lack of guidance on FBAs and strategies for…

This study involved a content analysis of the transition goals of 136 students (mean age 17) with mental retardation for those which addressed skills related to self-determination. Results indicated very limited emphasis on such skills. Discussion focuses on the need to provide systematic instruction in elements of self-determination to students…

This Department of Education Notice of Policy Guidance explains services to students with visual impairments under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as amended in 1997. An editor's note focuses on requirements for providing Braille and orientation/mobility instruction. The notice has sections on application of free…

How does the nation's largest urban public school district address the complex behavior management requirements of its special education students? This article reviews the positive behavior support system in the New York City schools. It delineates the major components of an urban special education public school district's positive behavior…

This analysis indicated that from variables theorized to influenced score changes in NAEP reading scores from 1994-1998, two were the most consistent with pattern of correlations found in the data. Together, both median household income (AVGINC) and the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch (FRELCH) had fairly large…

I investigated the presence, utility, and emergence of tacit knowledge in 9 study participants who used assistive-augmentative technology. I conducted phenomenologic interviews, audio-taping, and transcribed the interview with the written consent of the participants. Sixteen highly trained experts critiqued the final product of the interviews and…

To support K-12 students with significant disabilities and get an accurate picture of their skills and knowledge, schools need to implement effective alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). This is the guidebook every team should have--not only to develop successful AA-AAS linked with grade-level content standards,…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance." which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs." provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school, including…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 established a requirement that all States develop and submit to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) a performance plan designed to advance the State from its current level of compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the law…

Successful transition planning is a lifelong process in which the student, family members, friends, and professionals come together to develop and act upon a plan that will lead to a successful adult life. For this reason, transition planning has become a part of several federal laws. The most encompassing of these laws, the Individuals with…

This Australian study examined the emergence of collaborative processes when introducing co-teaching a unit of work into classroom practice. Six teams of regular and special educators at three primary schools (students aged 6 to 12 years) volunteered to systematically reflect on their co-teaching activities to design, implement, and evaluate a…

This paper deals with the way the vision of including children with special educational needs into their home school, constituted for instance in UNESCO's "The Salamanca Statement and Framework on Special Needs Education", has merged with other contemporary discourses (ideas and practices) in Icelandic education. In particular, the paper…

Eleven chapters provide in-depth perspectives on outcomes and issues of youth with learning disabilities as they move from high school to adulthood. Stressed throughout is the importance of comprehensive transition planning and the educational, employment, social, and living options available to persons with learning disabilities. Chapter titles…

Curricular changes at all levels of foreign language education provide alternate ways to provide valid learning experiences. There is new freedom for students to explore varying time arrangements, different learning styles, diverse content, and various locations for instruction. A discussion of student learning styles concerns individualization,…

The book briefly describes several hundred instructional methods from the Special Education Resources Location Analysis and Retrieval System (SER-LARS), which are intended for use in developing and carrying out individualized programs for handicapped children. Each teaching method includes an accession number; title; author; source; teacher tasks;…