IDEA is the cornerstone federal law that safeguards and promotes the educational rights of children with disabilities. It was enacted in 1975 as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), which established a right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities for the first time. Before the EHA, there…

Regional accreditation, seen as a necessary hurdle by many in higher education, is required to participate in Title IV funding. However, several studies indicate that the current accreditation process is broken. Institutions with more resources, both in staffing and funding, and more academically ready students are at an advantage for favorable…

Emerging literature on anti-CRT, anti-DEI efforts in education suggest that these attacks represent a rearticulation of racial ideologies which seek to contain racial progress. Although crafting anti-CRT and anti-DEI policies is primarily conducted through discourse, few studies explore the specific discursive mechanisms used to justify these…

Service animals can play an integral role in the lives and education of students with disabilities. In addition to assisting with physical tasks, service animals can improve confidence, independence and quality of life for students, as well as help them to meet their educational goals. Teachers, coaches and administrators should have the knowledge…

Using critical race theory (CRT) as both our theory and analytical framework, we interrogated vocational, career, and technical education (VCTE) policy as a racial instrument. We applied key CRT themes to examine both primary sources; including historical and contemporary VCTE Acts (e.g., Perkins I-V) and Congressional reports; and secondary…

State governments have the purview to interpret federal special education policies as they see fit. Interpretations of these policies to music education rarely are addressed within state special education policy. The authors selected four states to analyze and compare state special education policies; Illinois, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia.…

This study aimed to explore how University Liaisons respond to homelessness on their campus. With new federal and state laws being enacted, little research focuses on the policies, programs, and services at universities. Community Colleges tend to be a more attractive option for homeless youth due to the low cost; however, universities are also…

An array of federal, state, and local laws and policies come into play when situations arise that could compromise student safety. These laws and district policies combine to form an intricate and sometimes inconsistent patchwork of protocols that schools must follow. Robert Kim discusses the interplay between federal, state, and local laws…

Negotiated rulemaking (neg-reg) has now been used by administrations of both parties to enact major changes to Department of Education rules. The goal of neg-reg is consensus, and the agency's proposals and the conversations during the rulemaking sessions naturally determine whether that goal will be achievable with the parties at the table. To…

In recent years, there has been a special interest in promoting literacy learning in early childhood education programs. It is presumed that teaching literacy early can ensure better literacy outcomes in later years. Currently, in a renewed effort to improve children's literacy learning through science of reading supported practices, most states…

This guidance supersedes the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) Program Memorandum (PM) 20-2 published May 10, 2023, and rescinds OCTAE PM 17-7 "WIOA Annual Performance Report Submission," published September 12, 2017, developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education (the Departments). Through this…

School psychologists are well served to stay up to date on trends in special education law, particularly with respect to determinations when school teams' decisions are challenged. This allows them to focus on proactive best practices that foster accurate specific learning disability (SLD) identification and active collaboration with parents. This…

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) advocates for the full participation of all children and youth with disabilities and/or identified as gifted and talented in educational programming that promotes positive academic, social emotional, and adaptive/independent living outcomes and sets the stage for lifelong success. This position statement…

The Arizona state legislature has aimed to pass a series of bills banning those in schools from teaching topics associated with inclusion, social justice, and equity. Since 2020, the legislature has targeted teaching 'critical race theory' (CRT), often (mis)using the term to refer to any ideas related to systemic discrimination and racial…

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 has outlined an expanded role for school-based occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) as specialized instructional support personnel in general education. However, OTPs have continued to be viewed as related service professionals under special education due to barriers of high caseloads and decreased…