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Background: Individuals with intellectual disabilities need continued supports in completing daily living tasks to increase the likelihood of achieving independence. Fortunately, research has shown that assistive technology, and particularly video prompting helps support independent living for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Aims: This study investigated the efficacy of a highly customizable task analysis smartphone application in assisting three young adults with intellectual disabilities learn how to cook three different multistep recipes. Materials & Methods: Three young adults with intellectual disabilities enrolled in a four-year postsecondary education program (PSE) participated in a multiple probe design across participants to examine the effect of a Task Analysis app on the participants' completion of three cooking tasks. Results: In this present study, the use of video prompting to teach a daily living skill resulted in large and meaningful effect size gains of 99%-100% for all three participants, as measured by Tau-U. Discussion: Video prompting is an effective instructional strategy which allows the user to self-prompt and manage their ability to successfully complete daily living skills. In this current study, video prompting made a substantial difference in the safety of participants. Conclusion: The use of video prompting can decrease the reliance on others (e.g., teachers and caregivers), improve self-confidence of the user, and improve the user's level of autonomy.

The Latinx population is the largest group of racially and ethnically diverse students in the United States. Although disproportionality in school discipline has been documented for Latinx students, findings related to such disparities have been inconsistent. We examined disciplinary exclusion practices involving students with and without disabilities who are Latinx across the United States using risk ratios (RR) and weighted mixed-effect models. We leveraged data from the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data set for the 2015 to 2016 academic school year, which included data from more than 94,000 schools. The CRDC is collected by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights every 2 years. All U.S. public schools are required to submit data to the CRDC. Results suggest that Latinx students with and without disabilities were statistically significantly more likely to receive exclusionary discipline than White students, but less likely than Black students. Implications for research and practice are provided.

The present study was conducted to determine whether the problem characteristics of U.S. students school-identified with emotional disturbance (ED) have changed over two decades. We used data from a teacher rating instrument designed to measure the five problem characteristics of ED, as stated in its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) definition. These data were collected in the process of norming the instrument for 1998 and again for 2020. Comparison of the 1998 and 2020 students school-identified with ED showed that the 1998 group had significantly more problematic functioning on two characteristics, namely, Relationship Problems and Inappropriate Behavior, but no more problematic differences on Inability to Learn, Unhappiness or Depression, and Physical Symptoms or Fears. In addition, analyses of selected items gave more context to the main results. Study limitations, future research, and implications are discussed.

Thirty-one U.S. states have laws that may result in students being arrested for misbehavior in school that is often considered a low-level rule violation. The problems with these laws include the vagueness and subjectivity of the language of the law. As a result, the enforcement of such laws has been criticized as being discriminatory, especially against minorities and students with disabilities. In 2016, two laws in South Carolina were challenged in a series of important cases that stemmed from an arrest made of a student who posted a video of a violent, headline-grabbing altercation in her classroom involving a school resource officer. This brief report (a) reviews the incident that led to the case in South Carolina, (b) examines the history and eventual outcome of the cases challenging the South Carolina laws, and (c) offers implications for improved practice.

Although functional behavioral assessments and behavior intervention plans (FBA-BIP) are standard practices for students with disabilities, the research base on the nature of FBA-BIPs is limited as most record reviews were conducted before 2010. We examined key compliance components of FBA-BIPs for 304 students with disabilities in one large U.S. local education agency, including demographic differences in FBA-BIP adequacy, and whether two key components could predict FBA-BIP quality. Results indicated variability in the quality rating of key FBA-BIP components and differences in FBA-BIP adequacy by grade level. Furthermore, strong associations were found between the overall quality of the FBA-BIP and the function of behavior as well as whether strategies were matched to the function. We discuss limitations, future research, and implications for professional learning and development.

Ensuring the provision of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students qualified for services under the disability category of emotional disturbance (ED) has been both challenging and controversial. Examining this population in light of the five characteristics listed in the federal definition may provide useful insights to address needs and improve outcomes. The purpose of this study was to use latent class analysis to examine profiles across the five characteristics of the federal definition of ED for a sample of 491 students school-identified with ED. Key findings include that (a) students with ED are a heterogeneous group with distinct and qualitatively different subgroups; (b) latent classes representing the severe problems and the externalizing problems typologies tended to consist of younger students; (c) greater proportions of Black, Hispanic, and English-language learner students were found in the severe and externalizing latent classes; and (d) students in the externalizing and severe latent classes spent more time in special education classrooms and had worse ratings on social maladjustment. The findings highlight important implications for practice in regard to assessment, program differentiation, and preservice teacher training. Research limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

Co-teaching is a popular means to support students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, despite its widespread use, there are no meta-analyses examining the effects of co-teaching on academic outcomes for secondary students that analyze both study quality (e.g., the Council for Exceptional Children's "Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education") and effects. We addressed both of these gaps in the current review, identifying nine articles (10 experimental studies) that were analyzed for quality and effects. No studies met all of the quality indicators and study effects showed no significant impact on students' academic outcomes. Limitations and directions for research are presented. Implications for practice are also discussed, including the consideration that null effects, in this instance, do not necessarily suggest that co-teaching is ineffective.

In special education, medication often plays a critical role in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. The use of medications in schools, however, can be a problem when state laws and federal law conflict regarding the use of a medication, in this situation, medical marijuana. This column reports on a ruling by the U.S. District Court in New Mexico involving medical marijuana, in which state law in New Mexico and federal law conflicted. A short-term solution may be for school districts to consider home instruction as a means to ensure a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for qualified students with disabilities who need medical marijuana. A long-term solution may be to amend state laws, and the federal law (i.e., the Controlled Substances Act of 1970) that prohibits marijuana use, to allow the use and administration of medical marijuana in schools.

Five days after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in "M.C. v. Antelope Valley Union High School District." This important decision involved a student who was being served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The student was blind and required a high level of support in all academic areas. The case addressed important issues regarding parental participation throughout the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process and the school district's obligation to implement the IEP. This column (a) examines this decision by providing the facts of the case, including the decisions at the due process hearing level, U.S. district court, and U.S. Court of Appeals; (b) explores the ruling by the court of appeals decision; and (c) discusses implications of this decision for special education administrators and teachers.

For years, the research and policy focus on Black students with emotional disturbance (ED) has been on racial disproportionality. The disproportionality issue has sparked professional debate and raised major questions about racial bias, cultural fairness, appropriateness of assessment instruments, the adequacy of special education programs, poverty, exposure to risk factors, and research approaches. Unfortunately, minimal progress has been made on understanding the overrepresentation of Black students in ED programs. The purpose of the present study was to initiate research on the emotional and behavioral functioning of Black students with ED, by comparing the teacher-completed ratings from the "Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance" for Black students with ED (n = 139), Black students without ED (n = 421), White students with ED (n = 271), and White students without ED (n = 1,218). The results demonstrated that: (1) Black students with ED were judged to demonstrate significantly higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems than their Black and White peers without ED; and (2) Black students with ED differed minimally from White students with ED. Research limitations, directions for future research, and implications for assessment and service delivery are discussed.

As of the 2013-2014 school year, about 2.5 million school-age students attended charter schools nationwide. Because charter schools are publicly funded entities, they are required to adhere to all federal nondiscriminatory laws as well as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. This legal brief provides an overview of charter schools, legal requirements associated with students with disabilities enrolled in charter schools, and recommendations for practice.

There have been an increasing number of incidents in which school resource officers (SRO) have been used to manage student disciplinary issues with disastrous results. Court cases brought by parents and advocacy groups claim SROs have traumatized and injured students. This article addresses several critical issues concerning SROs being used to manage student misbehavior, lack of training, lack of policies regulating roles and responsibilities, and inadvertently promoting a school-to-prison pipeline. The authors provide recommendations and best practices for future use.

Qualified teachers with disabilities are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To maintain legal compliance, principals must have an understanding of employment law, but often lack the training to prevent legal liability. This study reviewed litigation on discrimination claims under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Discrimination claims included failure to accommodate, adverse employment action, wrongful termination, and constructive discharge. Authors analyze results and discuss implications for future research and practice.

The present study investigated the psychometric properties of the "Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance -- Third Edition: Rating Scale" (SAED-3 RS), which is designed for use in identifying students with emotional disturbance for special education services. The purposes of this study were to evaluate (a) the measurement invariance of SAED-3 RS scores between White and African American students and (b) the impact of differential item functioning (DIF) on test scores from the SAED-3 RS. The sample consisted of 855 K-12 students from throughout the United States. The findings suggested that SAED-3 RS items exhibited small to negligible levels of DIF and that DIF did not significantly impact scores. The results supported the SAED-3 RS, a teacher-completed rating scale, as relatively consistent in measuring the emotional and behavioral status of school-age students from different racial backgrounds. Researchers and practitioners can have confidence that scores from the SAED-3 RS are not substantially affected by DIF when assessing the emotional and behavioral functioning of African American and White school-age students. Research limitations, future research, and implications for school professionals are discussed.

The goal of this article is to assist individualized education program (IEP) team personnel to not make errors in the placement of students. To do so the authors: (1) describe what a placement decision is and who makes the decision; (2) review the placement requirements of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2006); (3) examine guidelines from the seminal cases that have addressed placement issues; (4) describe how IEP teams can avoid the most common placement errors; (5) provide a placement flowchart to help IEP teams make legally sound placement decisions; and (6) offer principles to help IEP teams make legally sound placement decisions.

Mental health in children and adults has always been a controversial topic, however, recent mass shootings in schools have heightened the concern of many and raise questions for how to interact with the mentally ill. Schools, have the capacity to be one of the key stakeholders in delivering services to students with mental health concerns, therefore it is critical to understand the dispositions of teachers toward these students to ensure that they understand the needs of these students. The purpose of this study is to examine specific characteristic of preservice teachers' attitudes towards individuals with mental illnesses. The study sample consisted of 173 preservice teachers enrolled in a four-year teacher education program at a public research university located in the southeastern United States. Results indicated that four demographic variables contributed to preservice teacher's attitudes on the Community Attitudes toward Mental Illness (CAMI) measure and its various subscales: political orientation, knowing someone with a mental illness, and believing ADHD and ASD were mental illnesses. Implications for future research are discussed.

Special education has been the subject of many rulings in federal courts. These rulings have greatly affected the practice of special education. The most important of these cases have come from the U.S. Supreme Court, which thus far has heard 12 cases directly affecting special education. This article examines the most important of these special education rulings from the High Court and addresses the meaning of these decisions for special education administrators, teachers, related service providers, students in special education, and their parents.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) consistently lag behind their peers academically and behaviorally, are likely to be excluded from school, drop out more frequently, and face higher incarceration rates and a host of other negative outcomes as adults. Federal policy has played a key role in (a) ensuring that students with disabilities are included in schools, (b) requiring schools to meet the unique needs of learners, and (c) providing funding to support the development and implementation of evidence-based practices. Our purpose in this article is to examine the progress and challenges related to the development of federal policy supports for students with EBD, and to offer recommendations to help guide the future development of policy. Specifically, we (a) recognize the important developments of the last 30 years in policy protections and funding for students with EBD, (b) identify current challenges and emerging opportunities in several areas related to the identification and support of students with EBD, and (c) offer policy recommendations related to strengthening the use of the functional assessment and personnel capacity development.

This study investigated the effects of a narrative intervention that employed repeated story retells and a Story Grammar Marker on the oral narrative skills of Spanish-speaking English learners with language impairments. Four third- and fourth-grade students participated in the study. Using a single-case multiple probe across participants design, the authors measured three dependent variables: narrative organization skills, narrative productivity, and syntactic complexity. As a result of the intervention, stories became more cohesive and scores for narrative organization increased by approximately 7 points from baseline to intervention across participants. Smaller effects for narrative complexity and syntactic complexity measures were noted. Implications for future research and for practice are provided.

Schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) is currently implemented in more than 23,000 schools nationally and internationally. Several reviews have examined the SWPBIS evidence base, including a meta-analysis of single-case design research. However, to date, there has not been a review of group-based experimental research (e.g., randomized controlled trials [RCTs]) on the school-level effects of SWPBIS implementation to reduce disciplinary exclusion, including office discipline referrals and suspensions. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following What Works Clearinghouse procedures to investigate that relationship. We identified four group experimental studies that included disciplinary exclusion as an outcome variable; two RCTs and two quasi-experimental designs. Overall, 90 schools, including both elementary and high schools, were evaluated. A statistically significant large treatment effect (g = -.86) was found for school suspension, but no treatment effect was found for office discipline referrals. Implications for future research are discussed.

Self-regulatory interventions have demonstrated numerous benefits for helping improve the academic performance of students. The purpose of this review was to report on the effectiveness and focus of academic self-regulation interventions for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural disorders. Thirty-six studies published in 35 papers and involving 189 participants met inclusionary criteria. Overall, self-regulation interventions showed moderate/medium effect size gains [percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) 75%; standard mean difference (SMD) 2.27; Tau-U 0.81] across academic subject areas. When assessing the effectiveness of self-regulation interventions for addressing specific academic content areas, the largest ES gains were observed in reading (PND 93%; SMD 2.13; Tau-U 0.94), although medium/moderate ES gains were observed in math (PND 71%; SMD 2.08; Tau-U 0.70) and writing (PND 83%; SMD 2.57; Tau-U 0.91). Self-regulated strategy development, self-monitoring interventions and strategy instruction were the predominant types of self-regulation techniques implemented by researchers. There was evidence to support a claim of the generalisation and maintenance of findings. Implications, limitations and areas for future research are discussed.

Over the past several decades, there has been a steady increase in the use of medication therapy to help control student behavior within schools. While psychotropic medications do not "cure" mental illnesses, they have demonstrated efficacy in helping children function better at school and within their home environment. However, it is important educators understand these medications may also pose significant risks for children, with potential side effects ranging from mild discomfort to life threatening complications. In this article, the authors review the major types of psychotropic medications, discuss the therapeutic benefits and potential side effects of medications, and provide recommendations regarding how teachers can assist to ensure the safe use of these medications. (Contains 2 tables.)