The post Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales was curated by information for practice.

Gianfelice Lupo, MEd, is a distinguished special education leader and former business owner

Adriane B. Gay, MBA, honored for her dedication and expertise in the field of special education

special education tests - intelligence, achievement, psychological processing, adaptive behavior, and personality.

It's worth remembering how far we've come on educating students with disabilities, writes Nebraska's education commissioner Matthew L. Blomstedt.

About $8 million will be eligible for compensatory education to students who were affected by an illegal state-imposed age cap on special education enrollment.

The target is the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support, a network of special education programs accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The state is trying to fight an Education Department decision that it had not put enough money into special education in the 2010-11 school year.

A Greenville, Miss. teacher was fired and a superintendent placed on administrative leave after a video of a student being dragged by her hair surfaced on social media.

As expected, the Education Department has delayed a rule that would require states to take a standardized approach in evaluating districts for minority bias in special education.

Districts could face a rising tide of special education-related lawsuits and complaints when schools resume, experts say, if they still cannot offer the services that students with disabilities missed out on for months.

Special education advocates argue the push for liability protection is a veiled attempt to seek waivers from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation's primary special education law.

Congress should not grant flexibility from the federal special education law's key components due to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has told federal lawmakers.

When it comes to parenting students with learning differences, every family's experience is unique. And that reality has never been more true than it is now as millions of students are out of school due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly 30 disability rights and education advocacy organizations have launched a new resource hub and online network designed to help special educators during the coronavirus crisis.

Districts could face a rising tide of special education-related lawsuits and complaints when schools resume, experts say, if they still cannot offer the services that students with disabilities missed out on for months.

Special education advocates argue the push for liability protection is a veiled attempt to seek waivers from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the nation's primary special education law.

A small portion of a $600 million settlement will be used to improve services and supports for children impacted by the city's water crisis.

Nathan Levenson of District Management Group discusses how school leaders can improve the quality of special education even as they manage its cost.

There are still lots of questions about how response-to-intervention is used, and whether it's being used correctly, considering that federal rules about identifying students with disabilities haven't changed.

Ellen Louise Wristen, JD, of Columbus, OH, is honored by the International Association of Who's Who with the Lifetime Achievement Award representing Special Education and Special Education Law.

Across the United States, about 7 million children, or 14 percent of all public school students, receive special education services because of their disabilities. Closed schools mean children lose the aides and therapists who provide daily support, leaving parents and teachers to shoulder multiple challenges.

This episode originally aired on April 30, 2020. Across the United States, about 7 million children, or 14 percent of all public school students, receive special education services because of their disabilities. Closed schools mean children lose the aides and therapists who provide daily support, leaving parents and teachers to shoulder multiple challenges.

The special education courts are designed to protect the legal rights of those children, but the city’s system is so overburdened that vulnerable students wait months or years for help getting critical support, according to the legal complaint.

New York City currently has fewer than 70 special education judges — called impartial hearing officers — to handle the thousands of complaints that special education students lodge every year against the city school system, resulting in more than 10,000 still-open cases.

Advocates predict up to 2,000 city youngsters with disabilities may be unable to find an appropriate preschool this spring because of financial constraints that make it harder to hire and maintain teachers for special needs programs.

This guest post is written by Angela Peterson who writes on the topic of Online Psychology Degrees and can be emailed at angela_peterson@rediffmail.com

It’s not easy raising a child, and when he or she is affected by a severe disorder or disease, you have a greater challenge ahead of you. You have to put in extra effort, energy and thought into your child’s development and progress, one aspect of which includes their education. Some parents of children with special needs may be tempted to overprotect by keeping them in cloistered environments and limiting their interaction with the outside world. This usually only hampers the child instead of helping them. If you’re a parent with a child who has special needs, here’s some strategies:

* Understand your child: Some children may be able to express themselves while others are limited because of their disability. Whatever the case, understand your child and know that they have a mind of their own even if they are unable to speak it. Instead of forcing your will on them, get to know what they wish to do and cater to their needs as much as possible as long as it does not cause them any harm.

* Be patient: It’s a tough task, but you need to have an enormous amount of patience with your child. You need to condition yourself to be patient through practice and experience, otherwise you and your child will be subject to a great deal of stress.

* Decide on their education: There are many options for providing education to your special needs child, so look for what is available in your area. If you plan to homeschool, you will need to do some research before you’re up to the task. Many feel that it’s better to let the professionals handle this task who are trained and more experienced. Also, your child gets to mingle with other children and interact with them on a regular basis, which is very important to his or her social development.

*Think about inclusive classrooms: Parents often want their special needs children to attend regular schools. Learn about inclusive classrooms and determine if it is a good fit for your child. Consider if your child is up to the task of being educated with general education children and if he/she can cope with the curriculum in such classrooms. Although teachers in inclusive classrooms are trained to deal with children with special needs, there may be times when your child could be bullied or teased by the other kids for not being like them. Take all these facts into consideration before you decide on an inclusive classroom for your child.


Children with special needs need all the help and support they can get from parents and teachers, and it’s up to you to decide on the best form of education for them.

As a School Psychologist- I attend numerous Special Education Meetings weekly. There are Child Study Meetings, where we discuss interventions and may decide to complete an evaluation. There are eligibility meetings, where we determine if a student is eligible for special education services. There are IEP meetings where we develop a plan for a student who is eligible for special education. Additionally, there are Manifestation Determination meetings, Functional Behavioral Assessments, Behavior Intervention Plans, and 504 Meetings.

I spend most days of my life working with various students who are at different parts in the sped referral process. I attend Child Study Meetings where we decide if we are going to evaluate a student. I observe and screen children and talk with parents and teachers to help the committee make a good decision about whether we should do a special education evaluation.   I evaluate those students (this includes Psychological testing, observations, talking with student/teacher/parent, doing rating scales, etc.). I attend eligibility meetings where we determine if the student is eligible for for special education services. All of this is second nature to me and sometimes I need to stop and remember when a parent comes in, that this is NEW.

When I talk to parents, I find that many parents do not fully understand the special education referral process, even when they nod and act like they do. We as school staff need to do a better job of helping the parents understand the process. Parents also need to speak up and ask questions when there is not understanding.

This is a guide for parents to understand the process of special education testing, the testing components, and some of the test data. It is important to note that schools systems and states will vary to some degree. If you have any questions about the process in your school system, ask your school psychologist, teacher, or principal. Parents have every right to ask questions and usually school personnel are happy to help make this process less anxiety-provoking for you. It is important for parents to understand their rights during the special education process.


Special Education Process

After data shows that interventions have been attempted and if a student is suspected of having a disability, a referral is made to evaluate him or her for special education testing. Once the parents sign the Permission for Testing Forms, timelines begin and the schools have 65 business days to complete the assessments and hold the eligibility meeting. Some states may have a different timeline.

During these 65 days, several testing components will be completed with you and your child. The evaluators will write reports and a copy will be given to parents at the eligibility meeting. However, schools are required to have a copy available for parents to pick up two days before the eligibility meeting. It is advised, that parents take advantage of this and read reports before the meeting to help get familiar with the information and to formulate questions. The reports hold a lot of information that can be overwhelming if you are not familiar with this type of testing. Read Understanding Test Scores to understand the types of tests used and what the scores mean.

Additionally, the meeting is likely to bring forth strong emotions as your child’s difficulties are discussed openly. It can be overwhelming for parents, especially when not prepared. When parents do not read the reports prior to the eligibility meeting, they are the only people at the table who come to the meeting not knowing what to expect.


What if My Child is Found ELIGIBLE for Special Education Services?

Once a child is eligible for special education services, the schools have 30 days to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for the student. This will consist of accommodations, goals, and describe the services offered. Parents are part of a committee to help create this document. Once it is signed, schools are legally required to follow it. It is reviewed once a year, unless parents or teachers feel that changes are necessary. Every three years, the committee will determine if the student should be reevaluated. This is called a triennial evaluation. Sometimes another full evaluation will be conducted, other times a review of records and updated teacher information is used.


What if My Child is Found INELIGIBLE for Special Education Services?

If your child was found ineligible for special education services and you agree with the eligibility findings, then your child will not receive special education. He or she was evaluated because of a problem that still needs to be addressed within regular education. Ask for a separate meeting with your teacher or a team to determine what accommodations or strategies can be used to help.

If you believe that your child requires special education services and has a disability, but was found ineligible for services, make an appointment to meet with the special education director. If an agreement cannot be reached, you may be able to have an Independent Evaluation at the expense of the school. The results of that testing will be brought back to an eligibility meeting. A child MUST have 2 things before they can receive special education services: They must have a disability and there must be a documented educational impact that the student requires special education services to be successful.

The decision comes after a state investigation of one Tulsa school found that the individualized education programs for students there frequently used generic educational goals.

It's worth remembering how far we've come on educating students with disabilities, writes Nebraska's education commissioner Matthew L. Blomstedt.

About 14,000 more students in the state are enrolled in special education, after the state lifted what it called a "benchmark" enrollment figure of 8.5 percent.

The U.S. Department of Education said Texas must stop using a guideline for special education enrollment that may have led to thousands of children being denied services they were qualified to receive.

Officials want to hear from parents, students and educators in the wake of a newspaper series that said Texas is suppressing special education enrollment.

Jan. 6 is the last day to submit comments to the U.S. Department of Education about their experiences with Texas' special education identification processes.

The federal office of special education programs said the state failed to ensure that students were properly evaluated for special education, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The state has developed an extensive plan for fixing a violation of federal special education law, but federal officials want to see additional corrective actions and plan a visit to follow up.

Thousands of Texas children are believed to have been kept from special education services because of a now-prohibited special education enrollment target of 8.5 percent, which is well below the national average.

It's worth remembering how far we've come on educating students with disabilities, writes Nebraska's education commissioner Matthew L. Blomstedt.

It's worth remembering how far we've come on educating students with disabilities, writes Nebraska's education commissioner Matthew L. Blomstedt.

About $8 million will be eligible for compensatory education to students who were affected by an illegal state-imposed age cap on special education enrollment.

Delaware is among three states using federal grants to develop school and district leaders who understand the complexities of special education.

By Kaitlyn Dolan Images by Brittany Greeson In the wake of the Flint, Mich., water crisis, the city has new concerns — how do they serve the influx of students in the special education system that may have been caused by elevated lead levels in the city’s water supply. Two mothers, Maxine Onstott and Ebony Dixon, […]

A Greenville, Miss. teacher was fired and a superintendent placed on administrative leave after a video of a student being dragged by her hair surfaced on social media.

Laurie VanderPloeg, a longtime special education administrator, will take over the office of special education programs starting in November.

As expected, the Education Department has delayed a rule that would require states to take a standardized approach in evaluating districts for minority bias in special education.

The Berkeley, Calif. school district and the state of Ohio have said they will do more to provide services and to ensure students with disabilities are educated in inclusive settings.