Adolescents with disabilities require access to general education and life skills instruction. Knowledge of food safety for this audience is important for health and valuable for work placement. The objective was to implement a survey to assess high school and transition special education teachers in RI, CT, and MA for food safety knowledge and…

The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

Teacher shortages have been steadily increasing across the nation, particularly in the field of special education. According to analyses conducted by the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education (COPSSE), reasons for this include the fact that veteran special education teachers are retiring at a faster rate than new teachers are being…

Because children who are deaf or hard of hearing are being identified at birth, fitted with advanced hearing technology, and enrolled in early intervention programs, families increasingly seek professionals who can provide services that support their choice of listening and spoken language. The increased demand for these services and shortages of…

Surveyed 400 regular and special educators from New York and Massachusetts on mainstreaming attitudes and perceptions of handicapped exceptional children. Results, implications, and future research directions are discussed, so that services to handicapped exceptional children can be improved and implemented. (Author)

Comparison of computerized and noncomputerized individualized education program (IEP) preparation with 45 special education teachers in 12 Massachusetts districts indicated that teachers using computerized IEP systems spent less time writing IEPs, had a more favorable attitude toward the IEP for instructional planning, and lowered costs for IEP…

The Massachusetts Special Education Manpower Planning Project is described. Relying on cooperative planning, the project developed a system to provide information on manpower planning, a system to link other agencies with the project, and annual statements of state special education training priorities. The project also collaborated with six other…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

This Massachusetts edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on…

Teachers and habilitative specialists (n=120) of multiply handicapped blind and deaf-blind children in Massachusetts responded to a survey on the use of assistive technology. Respondents reported problems in knowledge of electronic mobility aids and communication devices; the availability, maintenance, and funding of devices; and adequate…

The Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC) convened national and regional technical assistance (TA) providers and State Education Agency (SEA) teams for two days of focused work on teacher quality. The meeting was held at the Learning Center, Marlborough, Massachusetts, May 4-5, 2006. The purpose of the National Center for Improving Teacher…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Massachusetts edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state…

A study was conducted to determine the impact on remedial reading instruction of recent Massachusetts legislation aimed at providing diagnostic/prescriptive services to identified special needs children in the public schools. Specifically, the study concerned available programs, certification and deployment of specialized personnel, delivery of…

This report of a survey of eight states which implemented the School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) provides information on provisions in the state plans, the extent to which special educators participate in planning and implementation efforts, and how the needs of students with disabilities have been addressed. An overview is provided of the…

Discusses team-teaching or coteaching in the special/regular education integration approach. Describes the development of integration approaches, the limits of the consultation model, the restructuring demands of coteaching, barriers to implementation, advantages to the approach, and 10 suggestions for developing coteaching in schools. (JB)