<p> The phenomenon of the disproportionate representation of students of color in special education programs has been a concern amongst educational scholars over the last four decades; especially in the category of emotional disturbance. Qualitative research that explores actual districts as well as the programs they implement is needed to assist practitioners within the nation's TK-12 districts. The purpose of this study was to investigate what policies and procedures districts have revised or implemented to reduce referrals for special education placement, as well as compare state required improvement plan documents across participating districts. This study focused on California TK-12 districts that have been identified as significantly disproportionate in one or more disability categories by the California Department of Education. In-depth interviews of directors of special education were used as the research design approach to gain an understanding of the root causes of disproportionality as well as explore policies and procedures to reduce inequitable referrals. The findings were analyzed through the researcher-created conceptual framework of factors that reduce disproportionality. These factors include: access to effective instruction, sufficient resources, culturally responsive schools, equitable referral procedures, proper use of tests, and trained teachers. </p><p> Clear themes emerged around the conceptual framework. The findings revealed that inequitable referral and assessment procedures, cultural incompetency, inconsistent pre-referral interventions, and a lack of accountability were contributing factors that led to disproportionality for the participating districts. The study also revealed that ongoing and frequent professional development and inter-district collection of referral, suspension, and intervention data has a positive effect on monitoring disproportionality. Recommendations for policy-makers and practitioners aimed at developing cultural responsive practices that provides support for students of color prior to referrals for special education assessment.</p>

<p> The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 allowed schools to use a Response to Intervention (RtI) model as opposed to the discrepancy model to qualify students as learning disabled. The incorporation of the RtI model provided earlier interventions for students and reduced avoidance of special services and false diagnosis. With the success of the RtI model at the elementary level, middle schools attempt to implement the program with varying success. In this study, middle school principals were surveyed to determine their respective building's current level of implementation in regard to RtI. The building's implementation scores were compared to academic achievement to determine if there was a relationship using a Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (PPMC). Academic achievement was determined by students' MAP index scores relating to the 8th grade Communication Arts test, as well as the percentage of students who scored below basic. The PPMC determined little to no relationship existed between implementation levels and MAP index scores, as well as the percentage of students scoring proficient. Quartile tables were developed to determine which surveyed buildings had the highest academic achievement. The survey responses were analyzed to determine what essential components of RtI they were implementing. The essential components being implemented were determined to be universal screening, professional development, establishing clear goals and expectations, and administrator participation.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between student performance on Reading Curriculum-based Measures (R-CBM) and student performance on the Alaska's standards based assessment (SBA) administered to students in Studied School District (SSD) Grade 3 through Grade 5 students in the Studied School District as required by Alaska's accountability system. The 2 research questions were: (a) To what extent, if at all, is there a relationship between student performance on the R-CBM tools administered in Grades 3, 4, and 5 in the fall, winter, and spring and student performance on the Alaska SBA administered in the spring of the same school year in the SSD? (b) To what extent, if at all, can cut scores be derived for each of the 3 R-CBM testing windows in the fall, winter, and spring that predict success on the Alaska SBA administered in the spring of the same school year in the SSD? The Study School District (SSD) served approximately 9,500 students, with 14% of students eligible for special education services. The enrollment was 81% Caucasian, 10% Alaska Native, 3% Hispanic, 3% multiethnic, and 4% as the total of American Indian, Asian, Black, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The sample was 3rd (<i>n</i> = 472), 4th (<i>n</i> = 435), and 5th (<i>n</i> = 517) graders and consisted of all students with an Alaska SBA score and an R-CBM score for each of the 3 administrations of the R-CBM used in the 2009-2010 (FY10) and 2010-2011 (FY11) years. Pearson correlations were significant between R-CBM scores across 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades and the same grade Alaska SBA scores for FY10 data, <i>r</i> = .689 to <i>r</i> = .728, <i>p</i> &lt; .01. A test of the full model with R-CBM as predictor against a constant-only model was statistically reliable, <i>p</i> &lt; .001. The R-CBM reliably distinguished between passing and failing the Alaska SBA for students in Grades 3 through 5. Criterion validity of the cut scores was ascertained by applying scores to the FY11 data and yielded adequate levels of sensitivity from 49% to 88% while specificity levels ranged from 89% to 97%.</p>

<p> In this study, a multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of a social narrative on teaching appropriate social skills to three students with autism. Currently, guidelines for Social Story&trade;, as established by Carol Gray, have become very popular despite minimal scientific evidence to support their efficacy (Bellini, Peters, Benner, &amp; Hopf, 2007; Sansosti, Powell-Smith, &amp; Kincaid, 2004; Reynhout &amp; Carter, 2006). This study deliberately deviates from Gray's guidelines in an attempt to evaluate the contribution of the narrative to social literacy in students with autism.</p>

<p> This study was focused on the identification of selected risk factors seemingly present among African American male adolescents 13 to 18 years old who were participants in special education programs at their schools. Many of these male adolescents were also found to participate in the juvenile justice system under what was characterized as disproportionate placement. Through the perusal of several sources, including but not limited to parents, educators, law enforcement personnel, principals, counselors, and experienced teachers involved with special education students, it was realized these regular special students were experiencing disproportionate placement. The purpose of this study was to compare perspectives of parents and selected law enforcement personnel regarding risk factors that may contribute to their placement in special education and the U.S. Department of Justice. The research design was descriptive and established association between/among the variables under study. The data were collected, coded, and analyzed using the SPSS software package. The data revealed that parents and selected law enforcement personnel strongly agreed with 9 of the 21 descriptive statements, disagreed with 1 of the statements, and were undecided regarding 1 of the statements. This research provides educators, parents, administrators, juvenile justice officials, and superintendents involved in making decisions related to placement and instruction with specific information to aid them in making appropriate decisions. </p>