The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "College Readiness and Success." Contents include: (1) Texas School Counselors…

This article examines contextual factors that impact inclusive education in the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas, United States. Based on the analysis of teachers' narratives, the study concluded that teachers perceive inclusive special education as a student's right primarily grounded in the social justice context of education. While…

This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effectiveness of the Middle School Teacher Training Intervention on the application of culturally relevant instruction and classroom management instructions by teachers in a Title I middle school in the southeastern United States. This school lacked culturally relevant instruction and…

The inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings has steadily increased since the 1990s. Yet little is known about whether inclusive education is effective for these students or their non-disabled peers. I examine the impacts and associated costs of inclusive education on both student groups through the lens of one…

Advancement of testing of mathematical problem-solving skills calls for open-ended, realistic tasks particularly susceptible to bias, compromising the score validity and fairness of tests. Informed by universal design principles, this study framed 360 prototype items developed for the "Problem-solving Measures Grades 6-8 Computer Adaptive…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students receive a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Yet, research shows that middle school teachers do not feel prepared to work with students with special needs in the inclusive classroom (Mackey, 2014; Nagro et al., 2017;…

The study explores how middle schools in Bergen County, New Jersey adapted their social studies curricula to include representation of LGBTQ persons, outlined by Chapter 35 of Title 18A:"35-4.35," in their curriculum, and investigated examples of lessons said to include examples of the mandate. This study sought to understand the impact…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires annual data collection to monitor the provision of special education services, yet federal reports rarely disaggregate trends for English learners (ELs). In merging all available annual data files required under IDEA from 2006 to 2020, the present study provides the first large-scale…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all school districts provide a free appropriate public education to students with Individualized Education Plans in their least restrictive environment. Co-teaching in inclusion classrooms is a collaborative effort, with a general education teacher and a special education teacher, to…

At the same time teachers and administrators grapple with how to develop teachers' understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom, recent legislative sessions have unleashed a flood of legislation that seeks to limit teachers from teaching about race, racism, oppression, and injustice in U.S. schools. Teachers are struggling…

As the educational environment is moving more towards a technology-rich system, students with visual impairments (VI) educated in general education classrooms must be guaranteed equitable access to content curricula. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of middle school students with VI when accessing and using technologies…

The United States has seen an increase focus in science education at the same time that more students with disabilities (SWDs) are educated in a general education classroom. Because of this, science teachers must know how to implement best practices of working with SWDs. However, many science teachers report they do not feel prepared for this.…

Creating a fully inclusive educational environment continues to be a topic for educational reform. Children with disabilities have the right to access their education in the Least Restrictive Environment. In the United States, this right is protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004). Approximately 13.3% of the total number…

This qualitative case study was designed to learn more about how the practices of instructional leaders support and monitor the implementation of Individual Education Plans (I.E.P.s) and influence teaching in inclusive classroom settings. It was designed to explore a sample of general educators' and administrators' perceptions about the challenges…

This paper uses sensemaking theory and frame analysis to examine how a non-system actor's framing for advancing LGBT inclusion, what they called "code-switching," was taken up. Drawing on qualitative interview data generated as part of a larger mixed-methods study, this article examines the material and ideological affordances and…