Based on the importance of principals' roles in supporting students with disabilities and other diverse learners, Project Forum at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE), in collaboration with LeadScape, held a policy forum on this topic as part of its cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education,…

Disproportionate representation of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in special education has been a longstanding concern that the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) sought to address. The IDEA contains new requirements related to the provision of early intervening services designed to…

The inclusion of universal design for learning (UDL) in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act 2008 (HEA) demonstrates its escalating importance in the education field. UDL concepts and practices are not yet broadly integrated into all education policy. Policy has been slow to catch up to this quickly growing practice. To address that…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), most recently reauthorized in 2004, requires the inclusion of transition services in an individualized education program (IEP) for students with disabilities by the time they reach their 16th birthday, or earlier if determined appropriate by the IEP team. The IEP must include "(1)…

Obligations of state education agencies (SEAs) and Part C lead agencies set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) pertaining to early childhood transition from Part C to Part B of IDEA are described in several regulatory and guidance documents including Part C draft regulations (34 CFR Part 303), Part B regulations (34…

A policy forum held May 11-13, 2011 to provide input from stakeholders to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) accountability reporting system known as the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) process. Participants discussed their assessment of the…

In March 2008, the National Early Childhood Transition Initiative released a document developed collaboratively over several months titled "Designing and Implementing Effective Early Childhood Transition Processes". The document was created as a resource for improving state and local performance on the State Performance Plans (SPP) and…

Although co-teaching has been a topic of interest for more than two decades among professionals advocating inclusive practices (e.g., Bauwens, Hourcade, & Friend, 1989; Garvar & Papania, 1982), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates for curriculum access, high…

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 2004, it eliminated the requirement that individualized education programs (IEPs) include short-term objectives or benchmarks, except for students with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. Instead, the IDEA regulations…

This document presents a seven-step process to be used in developing a standards-based Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each step is followed by guiding questions for the IEP team to consider in making data-based decisions. Two student examples are provided to illustrate application of the components of a standards-based IEP. The student…

This proceedings document provides a synthesis of the presentations on the historical and research background of graduation requirements for students with disabilities and of a panel discussion based on implementation of the various requirements. Based on the presentations and discussions, the forum participants described and refined 14 issues…

In June 2003, Congress passed the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act, which reauthorized the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), which provides federal funding for state child welfare agencies. A new provision in the reauthorized CAPTA requires that states receiving CAPTA funds develop and implement "provisions and…

Based on the importance of Response to Intervention (RTI) and Early Intervening Services (EIS) for state education agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) and many other stakeholder groups, Project…

Policymakers and early childhood experts have long recognized the important role early childhood programs play in meeting the needs of young vulnerable children. Federal programs such as Head Start and Parts 619 & C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are specifically designed to target young, vulnerable children and…

According to data collected by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC), states are increasingly offering what they describe as a "single certificate" for early childhood and early childhood special education (i.e., certification that covers children both with and without disabilities). This document describes…