This paper sets out original findings from analyses of the English National Pupil Database of Key Stage 1 (KS1) attainment, to examine educational outcomes of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The schooling of these children has been entirely within the context of the current SEND system, defined by the 2014-2015…

Public schools have a long-established practice of conducting screening assessment of students as they enter kindergarten. The purpose of this study, conducted in spring 2021 by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute at the request of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, is to gain a current list of the assessment…

Background: Dyslexia is a specific reading disability characterized by word recognition difficulties that can qualify a student for special education services under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" (IDEA; 2004; Yudin, 2015). As of 2024, 49 US states have legislation defining dyslexia and enumerating for schools…

Since the inception of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school districts throughout the United States have found themselves on the losing end in the battle to keep special education teachers (SETs) in the classroom. The SET shortage cripples schools' ability to provide individuals with exceptionalities (IWEs) with a free and…

This article provide an analysis of the relevant court decisions from the end of 2016 to the end of 2019 specific to the IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] child find obligation. Questions investigated concerned trends with regard to frequency, distribution, and outcomes as well as whether particular factors (such as response to…

How progressive is school spending when spending is measured at the school-level, instead of the district-level? We use the first dataset on school-level spending across schools throughout the United States to ask to what extent progressivity patterns previously examined across districts are amplified, nullified, or reversed, upon disaggregation…

This Brief provides an overview of issues related to the inclusion of students with disabilities and English learners with disabilities in early grade (that is, K-2) assessments and offers strategies for improved practices.

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…

In an era of increasing demand for accessible, quality, and equitable education for all children and increased responsibilities for teachers and educators, inclusive education must be resourced adequately. This article reports on the qualitative findings from a multiple case study of support resources perceived to enhance teachers' efficacy in…

In this article, Todd Grindal, Laura Schifter, Gabriel Schwartz, and Thomas Hehir examine race/ethnicity differences in students' special education identification and subsequent placement in segregated educational settings. Using individual-level data on the full population of K-12 public school students in three states, the authors find that…

Equity issues continue to surround the supports and services provided to students with dis/ abilities from birth onward, especially for children of color and despite extensive legal protections guaranteed through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The purpose of this article is to examine how these systemic issues unfold in…

The subject of public charter schools and students with disabilities is both important and sensitive. These students have the potential to benefit greatly from the smaller size and specialized focus of many public charter schools, but questions persist regarding whether all or even most charters are as receptive to enrolling students with…

Although most students with disabilities (SWDs) receive instruction from general education teachers, little empirical work has investigated whether these students have suitable access to high-quality teachers. We explore the differences in teacher quality experienced by SWDs and students without disabilities (non-SWDs) in the Los Angeles Unified…

Propelled by accountability policies, leaders have touted data-driven decision making as a means to improve K-12 student outcomes and drive equity, as teachers analyze data to change instruction. However, many data-driven decision-making reforms have failed to challenge inequity. Melanie Bertrand and Julie Marsh's study of six middle schools shows…

The purpose of this multiple-case study was to explore the experiences of two students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a full-inclusion music education context and how those experiences aligned with stakeholder perspectives regarding the role of music education for this population. Three themes emerged from the data: The Not-So-Atypical…