The person-centered individualized education program (IEP) transition planning has emerged as a primary indicator of quality services, and as a predictor for successful post-school outcomes for transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, these person-centered transition practices are not uniformly implemented across the…

The objective of this study was to investigate the attendance patterns of parents and students at IEP/transition meetings where transition plans for students with disabilities are developed. Transition plans were developed to determine the level of assistance the student with disabilities required as he/she graduates or ages out of public school.…

Graduation and dropout rates are the center of the conversation about high school reform, with President Obama and the U.S. Department of Education leading the charge to boost high school and college graduation rates among our nation's students in the next ten years. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to keeping teens in school and…

A diverse group of professionals associated with Texas Woman's University's Institute for Women's Health, working collaboratively with school administrators, teachers, family support teams, and family members, developed Growing with EASE: Eating, Activity, and Self-Esteem, a nutrition program for young children and their families. In tracking the…

In this special issue, we have sought to explore the strategies, programming, interventions, and policy decisions that institutions and communities use collaboratively as they attempt to cope with this educational crisis. Some of those strategies involve working with nontraditional constituencies such as parents or involve nontraditional and…

Special education students who graduate or age-out of school are often not successful in making the transition from school to work. Transition services in Texas are grounded in federal civil rights legislation and a Texas Senate concurrent resolution which calls for preparing and supporting the successful transition of handicapped students to the…

Accelerated schools strive to bring at-risk students into the educational mainstream and perform at grade level through acceleration rather than remediation. Describes four steps to initiate the accelerated process and how a Texas middle school involved all members of the school community in implementing the first two steps, taking stock and…