The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Supporting Diverse Students." Contents include: (1) Federal Departments of…

For two decades, Ohio's district and school report cards have been the linchpin to a transparent and accountable public school system and have highlighted student outcomes in the state's 3,000 plus public schools and 600 plus districts. Report cards offer key academic information about how students perform on the year's state assessments and how…

Individuals who serve as surrogate parents fulfill an important role in the life of a child with a disability. Surrogates have become increasingly important in special education because a growing number of children are living outside their family for some period of their lives. Like parents, surrogates of children with disabilities are granted a…

School-Parent Compacts are a component of school-level parental involvement policies, and must be developed by the school, teacher, and parents as a description of how parents, the entire school staff, and students themselves will work together for improved student academic achievement. This District of Columbia Public Schools School Year…

School leaders, parents and coaches are challenged to ensure the safety of athletes participating in interscholastic programs, including concussion management. With an estimated 300,000 sport-related concussions occurring annually in the United States and a public perception that bell ringers are not concussions, many head-injured children are…

With the increasing concern over alcohol and other drug use among young people, adults must educate themselves about legal issues. This booklet is a resource for parents and educators to help them learn tobacco, alcohol, and other drug laws in California. The material is organized by type of drug with the legal codes as they apply to that drug…

As states and communities work to improve the accessibility and quality of supports and services for young children and their families, they find that their greatest challenge is in gaining and maintaining concerted attention and resources for planning, financing, implementing, and sustaining high-quality, coherent systems. This brief addresses…

This guide is a starting point for parents, teachers, health professionals, law enforcement personnel, alcohol retailers, policymakers, and others who are concerned with the well-being of children. It describes three basic prevention strategies and ways they can be applied in the home, the school, and the community, and offers effective,…

This book provides an accessible introduction to laws that affect children and families, and the dominant public debates that surround and drive these laws. Using real-world examples, the book exposes the tension between reliance on the private, autonomous family and the public's desire to secure child wellbeing. A look at some public systems,…

Efforts to locate missing children have expanded from a federal law allowing for entry of information into an F.B.I. computer system to companion bills before Congress for establishing a national missing child clearinghouse and a Justice Department center to help in conducting searches. Private organizations are also involved. (KS)

The goal of this K-12 science safety resource is to bring together information needed by administrators, planners, teachers and support staff to help them make sound decisions regarding science safety. The document identifies areas for decision making and action at a variety of levels. It supports planning and action by providing information on…

This set of newsletters presents a developmental perspective on gifted students from preschoolers to adolescents. Included are such regular columns as "The Hidden Gifted Learner,""Parenting the Gifted,""Instructional Strategies,""Creative Ventures and Encounters,""The Reading Room" (a book review column), "Personality Plus,""Adolescent…

Intended for use by parents of children and youth with disabilities, this guide offers guidelines for planning for a smooth transition into a new special education placement necessitated by a family move. The question-answer format addresses such questions as the following: "Will the school in my new neighborhood offer special education…

This article describes how parent representatives can effectively prepare for and conduct due process hearings as required under Public Law 94-142 when conflict resolution efforts fail. Key terms involved in the legislation are discussed, as are applications of the Attorney's Fee Act to minimize the financial burden involved in such litigation.…

The practice of hazing in college fraternities, sororities, high school clubs, professional societies, business, the military, and secret societies is investigated. Through the retelling of actual stories involving hazing, the book addresses the questions of why men and women haze and allow themselves to be hazed, how the problems of hazing can be…