Intervention in School and Clinic

Teacher educators need practical strategies to better prepare special education teacher candidates for classroom management challenges, as over 45% report feeling unprepared despite traditional training. This practitioner paper provides teacher educators with a systematic, yet flexible approach for embedding high-leverage practices (HLPs) into classroom management courses through rehearsal and role play. Ready-to-implement instructional sequences, lesson plan templates, and step-by-step guidance for facilitating experiential learning activities that allow teacher candidates to practice evidence-based strategies in supportive environments are discussed. Key components include modeling HLP 7 Consistent Learning Environments and HLP 16 Explicit Instruction while simultaneously teaching their implementation through structured rehearsal and role play activities.

One of the main challenges in co-teaching is implementing co-planning, and teams often struggle with fragmented planning and a lack of consistency. To address these issues, a co-planning tool developed in collaboration with general and special education teachers at the secondary level in Quebec, Canada, is presented in this article. This tool proposes a schematization of co-planning based on three dimensions: (1) instructional and assessment; (2) teaching strategies and learning support; and (3) organizational. Each dimension is first defined, followed by a set of practical guidelines. A vignette illustrates the co-planning process within each dimension. This tool can contribute to developing concrete solutions to improve the co-planning process.

Students with learning disabilities who use African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in addition to Mainstream American English bring rich cultural and linguistic strengths shaped by their experiences across home, school, and community contexts. However, special education processes may overlook these strengths, influencing how students are understood as communicators and learners. This article examines how language in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) can better reflect the communicative practices of bidialectal students with learning disabilities while addressing their disability-related needs. A framework for IEP development is introduced that integrates five anchors and a four-step reflective protocol to support alignment across present levels, goal statements, and progress monitoring. The anchors function as lenses for interpreting student communication, while the protocol guides teams in examining and revising IEP language. Practical examples illustrate how this approach supports more accurate, strength-based documentation and more meaningful opportunities for communication and literacy development.

Addressing the unique needs of students, including their related service needs, in postsecondary transition planning is essential. However, related service providers may face barriers to involvement in the transition planning process. The Triangulated Gap Analysis Tool: Related Services (TGAP:RS) is one way to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of transition planning for related service providers. Providers can follow a step-by-step process to identify annual goals that are meaningful and relevant to a student’s postsecondary aspirations. The TGAP:RS tool emphasizes the related service provider’s expertise in addressing the student’s future environmental needs and provides a conduit for improving collaboration among all Individualized Education Program (IEP) team members in the transition planning process.

Welcome to opening doors. The term barrier has become synonymous with special education, and while it may be true that there are many barriers for students with disabilities in schools, it presents a narrative of constant struggle. In opening doors, rather than continuing the narrative, we consider the barrier and how to remove it. How can the door be opened? The following is a series of manuscripts that present evidence-based strategies and supports for building trusting relationships and creating a welcoming, safe environment. We aim to shift the narrative of school from a place of constant struggle to an open environment.

The provision of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) is required for all individuals receiving special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Given the continuous legal developments on parental rights and the provision of FAPE to qualified students with disabilities, there is a need to review recent developments, particularly about the growing population of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Herein, we discuss illustrative recent case law findings from 2025 and implications for educators and parents of students with ASD. Based on these findings, we offer implications for practice and resources for educators and families.

Understanding fractions is key to success in advanced math and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Yet many students—especially those with a math disability or difficulties—struggle with foundational understanding of fractions. This article offers a look at how different representations of fractions, such as area, set, and length models, can be used to strengthen students’ understanding of fractions. Two primary considerations include (a) using representations to understand target concepts and (b) mapping between representations. We present various instructional supports that educators can use to implement these steps effectively.

South Korean schools are increasingly encountering students with disabilities from immigrant backgrounds. Difficulties experienced by these students have often been attributed to individual language ability or family background. In South Korea, students with disabilities from immigrant backgrounds are generally categorized as “multicultural students,” yet multicultural education and special education continue to operate through separate pathways. Consequently, processes linking evaluation to instruction and support are fragmented, leaving schools to rely heavily on individual judgment in the absence of clear guidance. This article shifts the focus to structural conditions within the South Korean education system that fail to adequately address cultural and linguistic diversity. Rather than reporting the effects of a specific policy, the article examines what remains disconnected in school practice and offers evaluation-focused questions and directions relevant for practitioners and administrators.

Historically, educational systems have prioritized authoritative teaching and learning based on dominant norms, further excluding students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Thus, it is imperative for educators to make a philosophical and pedagogical shift toward a humanizing pedagogy, which centers students’ lived experiences, strengths, and autonomy. Humanistic educators uphold four key values: (a) teaching as a relationship, (b) space as a reflection of inclusion, (c) instructional strategies that embolden students, and (d) assessment as a tool for growth. This article provides an in-depth look at these values, along with actionable strategies for educators committed to this work. By reimagining education as a collaborative and liberatory process, educators can foster environments where students with EBD thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Building positive relationships with students is one of the most powerful choices a teacher can make. Strong student–teacher relationships have been linked to improved social-emotional development, classroom behavior, and academic success. Yet, reactive and exclusionary discipline practices continue to undermine these relationships, diminishing trust and long-term behavioral growth. This article presents a responsive, relationship-based approach for classroom management that emphasizes connection over punishment. It highlights three research-based, easy-to-implement strategies: offering choice, precorrection/prompting, and behavior-specific praise. These strategies foster prosocial behaviors while maintaining a warm, supportive, and inclusive classroom environment for all learners.

This article introduces School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) in Turkish schools through a family–school–university partnership methodology, Learning Lab. The Learning Lab served as a structured, collaborative process through which educators, families, and researchers jointly examined discipline practices, identified systemic and contextual barriers, and co-developed culturally responsive Tier 1 supports aligned with national regulations. Rather than presenting SW-PBIS as a framework to be adopted directly, this article highlights the collaborative design process used to embed preventive practices within a centralized education system. Practical implications for practitioners include guidance on introducing SW-PBIS across cultural contexts, engaging families as authentic partners in decision making, and using collaborative methods to design equitable and sustainable school-wide behavior support systems.

Paraeducator support is often crucial in the education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. However, paraeducators who serve these students often lack sufficient training and mentorship to support effective instruction and behavior management. Similarly, teachers are typically underprepared to work with paraeducators to build sustained, effective collaborations. In this paper, we describe an evidence-based collaboration process based on the practice-based coaching framework and illustrate the implementation of this process within the context of supporting the academic and behavioral needs of a student with emotional and behavioral disorders. We outline a practice-based coaching process anchored in a collaborative partnership between the coach (teacher) and the coachee (paraeducator), emphasizing a bidirectional relationship in which both individuals contribute their expertise and work together as partners.

Students who are adjudicated receive their education in juvenile justice (JJ) facilities. Different personnel work in these facilities, each with specific responsibilities: educators to provide instruction, mental health professionals to provide support, and security personnel to address safety concerns. When they work together, they create a predictive, safe environment conducive to learning. Challenges such as school disruptions, frequent lockdowns, and low expectations create significant obstacles for students in the JJ education system. Due to these structural and institutional barriers, educational outcomes can be negatively affected. This article highlights strategies that teachers in JJ facilities can use to improve access to educational services and support for their students. Students experience success when educators expand access to educational opportunities through flexible learning options. The article concludes by emphasizing that educators and security personnel must collaborate to provide students in these settings with better learning opportunities.

Multidisciplinary teams are responsible for developing legally compliant individualized education programs for transition-age students with disabilities. A critical component of this process is the use of age-appropriate transition assessments to inform postsecondary goals and transition services. However, the assessment process can become challenging when team members differ in their perspectives on the types or extent of evaluations needed to support transition planning. For example, a dispute may arise when a parent seeks to limit the scope of special education evaluations. In C.M.E. on behalf of W.P.B. v. Shoreline School District (2023), a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed whether parents may refuse components of an evaluation required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. The court concluded that parents may refuse special education services but cannot dictate the assessments within an evaluation. Implications and strategies to support collaborative transition planning with families are discussed.

Language is more than a means to communicate information. It is connected to our cognitive processes, social structures, and identities. Unfortunately, for many students with learning disabilities (LD), including multilingual learners with LD, developing and using language in meaningful ways is confined to the limited opportunities created in the classroom. Misinterpretation of the recent rescission of seminal guidance for the education of multilingual learners, may give educators pause in supporting and scaffolding the languages of multilingual learners, especially those students with LD. This article provides a framework for intentionally creating supportive, language-rich classrooms that affirm students’ identities, promote language development, and enhance learning.

Many elementary students, particularly those with or at risk for mathematics learning disabilities (MLDs), demonstrate persistent fraction misconceptions, which can impede conceptual understanding and fraction computation. This article describes four common fraction misconceptions and provides targeted instructional practices for addressing each misconception, emphasizing the use of multiple representations through the length, area, and set models of fractions. The article focuses on addressing these misconceptions at Tier 1 level given the widespread difficulties with fraction understanding and common Tier 1 constraints (e.g., curriculum pacing, limited reteaching opportunities, and overemphasis of symbolic computation). By intentionally integrating multiple representations within fraction instruction, using precise mathematical language, teachers can preemptively address students’ whole-number bias and support students in developing a more robust and flexible understanding of fractions. Although situated within Tier 1 instruction, the strategies can be adapted for use across Tiers 2 and 3 settings to support students with or at risk for MLD.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the ways in which school districts provide educational services to all students, especially students with disabilities. Eligible students with disabilities have a right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and students with disabilities who are not eligible under the IDEA may also have a right to receive a FAPE under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. School personnel need to attend to both of these important federal laws when providing educational services. Shortly after the pandemic began, the U.S. Department of Education, through the Office of Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, issued guidance to school districts making it clear that despite school closures, school district personnel had to continue providing FAPE under the IDEA and Section 504. Following the return to school, the Office of Civil Rights investigated the Los Angeles Unified School District in California and the Fairfax County Schools for discriminating against students with disabilities by failing to provide educational services during the pandemic. In this article, we briefly review the guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and discuss important implications for teachers of students with disabilities.