Falling through the Cracks: Deaf New Americans and Their Unsupported Educational Needs

Members of the Deaf New American community reported they arrived in the United States with no formal education, unable to read or write in their native language, and had zero fluency in English. Efforts to educate them have floundered, and the study aims to find out why and how to fix the problem. Interviews of eight Deaf New Americans yielded rich data that demonstrates how education policy in the form of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other laws fail to address their needs, because these laws do not include them in their coverage. The study’s main findings are the deleterious effect of the home country’s failure to educate their Deaf citizens, America’s failure to provide accessible and effective instruction, and the combined effect of these institutional failures on the ability of Deaf New Americans to master English and find gainful employment. This article is an argument for a change in education policy that recognizes the unique nature of this community and provides for a role of Deaf educators in teaching Deaf New Americans.

IDEA and Inclusive Education

Federal mandates, most notably the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), guarantee education rights for children classified under one of the 13 categories of disabilities, ensuring that they are educated with their peers in the general education classroom as much as possible based on their ability and needs. State educational agencies and local educational agencies are responsible for ensuring that the pedagogical needs of all children with a disability are met in accordance with the law. This chapter discusses IDEA and the concept of inclusion and how special and general educators must increase their efforts to promote and support equitable opportunities for all students.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Disability Categories

This chapter is a collection of case studies, discussion questions, and enrichment activities addressing each of the 13 disabilities covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in addition to the disability categories of dyslexia and developmental delay. These case studies, questions, and enrichment activities address services that occur in a wide variety of public school settings. The purpose of this chapter is to serve as a supplemental text to courses in special education, psychology, counseling, nursing, and social work. Currently, there are scarce supplemental application resources available to instructors who are conducting teacher preparation courses and other disability-related courses.

Strategies for Teaching Math to Middle and High School Students With Special Needs

This chapter is designed to inform and educate 6th- through 12th-grade teachers on how to provide math activities for students with an identified learning disability as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The chapter provides an introduction to the topic, background information on teaching math at the secondary level, research-based instructional strategies that can be used for teaching math to students with identified special needs, and specific manipulatives that can be created and utilized to teach the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics to this population. Additional resources and readings are included as well.

Challenges and Victories of Virtual Environments With Students With Disabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 altered the educational environment for everyone. Moving from an in-person environment to a virtual one can be highly problematic for individuals (specifically, students with disabilities) whose teachers most often use direct instruction strategies that require face-to-face interaction. This chapter will help the reader understand the variations of the characteristics of the different disability categories served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This chapter will provide the readers with instructional strategies that effectively mitigate difficulties with instruction in a virtual environment. Additionally, this chapter will examine the challenges observed in students with disabilities that make accessing the virtual educational setting problematic. These areas include race, culture, disability, and low socioeconomic factors. Finally, this chapter will provide the reader with tips from teachers and students as they have struggled to navigate this new educational environment.

Conceptualizing and Utilizing Board Certified Behavior Analysts as Related Services Providers in Inclusion-Oriented Schools

Although behavior analytic practices have been widely applied in schools to support students with disabilities, there remains limited guidance concerning utilization of these practices in inclusion-oriented schools and, more specifically, the role of the Board Certified Behavior Analyst in the provision of related services. The goal of this article is to encourage discussions among stakeholders hopefully leading to a clearer conceptualization and more effective utilization of behavior analytic practices in inclusion-oriented schools. In addition to discussing the conceptualization of behavior analytic services as a related service and the role of both Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians as paraprofessionals under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, we provide a set of guidelines for related services decision-making practices useful within a collaborative teamwork framework, including behavior analysts, and offer areas for future research.

Provision of a Free and Appropriate Public Education in an Adult Jail during COVID-19: The Case of Charles H. et al. v. District of Columbia et al.

COVID-19 has engendered serious challenges with the provision of special education services for youth and young adults incarcerated in U.S. adult correctional facilities. This article describes the recent lawsuit, Charles H. et al. v. District of Columbia et al., which focused on the lack of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) at the Inspiring Youth Program (IYP) school in the Washington DC jail during the pandemic. Following a brief review of relevant components of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2006) regulations, we describe the three areas in which there were violations to the provision of IDEA and FAPE, as well as the harm incurred. Specifically, we discuss the lack of: (a) instruction and monitoring of youth academic progress; (b) related services (i.e., behavioral interventions and supports, counseling); and (c) DC public schools Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) supervision and oversight. Finally, we provide a discussion of the need for compensatory education to remediate harm.

Vision 2020: A Review of 20 Years of Inclusion Studies in Music Education

Inclusion has been a prominent topic in music education since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1974 (now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA 2004). In 2000, music educators at the Housewright Symposium presented a list of goals for music education for the year 2020 in a document called Vision 2020, and one of those goals stated that barriers would be removed for the inclusion of all students. The purpose of this literature review was to examine the past 20 years of music education research (1999–2019) to determine how well the inclusion goal of Vision 2020 has been met. Four themes emerged: Perceptions in Schools, Practices in Schools, University Coursework, and Unique Topics. A concluding section summarizes findings and presents implications for meeting the Vision 2020 inclusion goal as it pertains to students with disabilities.

Adapted Physical Education: Meeting the Requirements of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that school districts provide eligible students with specially designed instruction that confers a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Depending on the unique needs of a student, FAPE may include physical education services. The IDEA also requires that a student’s individualized education program (IEP) include adapted physical education services, when deemed necessary to meet a student’s needs. In this paper we (a) define and compare physical education and adapted physical education, (b) examine the FAPE of the IDEA requirements regarding physical education and adapted physical education, (c) review a recent policy letter issued by the U.S Department of Education on adapted physical education, (d) highlight several court cases on adapted physical education for students with disabilities, and (e) offer guidance on when to include physical education and adapted physical education in students’ IEPs.

“It Would Be Nice If”: Analysis of Transition Experiences Through Grand Challenges

The adult outcomes of youth with disabilities continue to lag behind those of their peers without disabilities, especially for youth living in rural communities. Interdisciplinary teaming is identified as an important component of effective transition planning. Transition planning and collaborative teaming are challenged further in rural communities due to lack of resources, distances between services and providers, and access for youth and their families. Social workers, given their multisystem perspective on aligning youth and family needs with resources, may be well poised, though currently underutilized, to address the challenges of transition in rural contexts. Through the transition experiences of 20 families and young adults with high need disabilities from a rural southern state, this study analyzes the potential alignment between the tenants of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for transition and the priorities of social work described in the Grand Challenges. Implications for practice and policy for special education transition planning in rural communities are offered.