This dissertation utilizes a qualitative approach to research, guided by policy analysis and evaluative case studies. The purpose of the study is to examine what information is made available to parents regarding their rights, and the rights of their child, when utilizing a voucher or education savings account to attend a private school. The…

It is important for educators to collect accurate information on the academic performance of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who may be assessed with an Alternate Assessment Aligned with Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS) to inform decisions about resources, programs, instruction, and individualized…

Early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers support children who qualify for Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004). ECSEs generally serve children under the age of five and are often asked to guide the development of a plan to decrease persistent challenging…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the readability of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B procedural safeguard notices written in Spanish, as distributed by each of the 50 states in the United States and the District of Columbia. Results were compared with the 6th-8th grade document readability guideline…

This paper presents findings from a collaborative research project with students and lecturers that explored the integration of technology to enhance accessibility and inclusion in fieldwork education. The project set out to involve students as co-researchers to broaden the insights of the research team, and purposely included the diverse…

Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a unifying cause within applied linguistics. Whether highlighting the experiences of linguistically diverse learners across the social class spectrum or advocating for the inclusion of marginalized populations in research, researchers within the subfields of applied linguistics have…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student's achievement. Further, Smarter Balanced is building on a framework of accessibility for participating students, including…

The Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA) safeguards the learning of students with disabilities and protects them from nondiscriminatory assessments that identify their disabilities and align them with the special education support and services required. However, when the IDEA is not adequately followed, students with disabilities…

This quantitative research study analyzed the effectiveness of Section 504 plans on academic achievement as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), and graduating grade point averages (GPA). There is limited research on the effectiveness of Section 504 plans and academic…

The objective of this research is to examine the educational and public policy concerns pertaining to career transitioning among students with visual impairments. The authors conducted a narrative literature review. The conceptualization of policy, with a specific focus on educational and public policies, was provided. The article also discussed…

The Developmental Screening Guidebook is designed as a reference guide on how to best support healthy growth and development of children in your care throughout key developmental intervals and identify children who may benefit from specialized support. Early childhood program staff, service providers, health care systems, families, and communities…

This commentary outlines the potential benefits of applying advances in the science of learning and development to special education service delivery and research. Building from a dynamic ecological systems perspective of development, it is argued that special education should focus on the whole child in context to leverage the correlated…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. This fact sheet focuses on: (1) Percentage Point Difference between English Learners and English Learners with Disabilities Ages 6-21 Identified and Served under Individuals with Disabilities Education…

The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act placed a 1.0% cap on the participation of students with disabilities in the alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). U.S. Department of Education regulations clarified that states must develop participation guidelines and a definition of…

This systematic review explores the benefits and difficulties of using technology for the learning of university students with disabilities in both face-to-face and distance learning. Three databases were searched: ERIC, Scopus and Web of Science. The review included 14 articles that met all the inclusion criteria. All the included articles were…