What is "effective" special education? How do I know if we are using the best possible interventions for our special education students? How can I get better results for these students? These are the questions that successful principals need to be asking. Special education law and practices are rapidly changing and principals need to know what those changes mean for their schools. The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) are creating the need for every school leader to understand the foundation of good instruction and sound special education policy. What Every Principal Needs to Know About Special Education is designed to provide that foundation. It contains the information that every principal needs in order to effectively educate students with disabilities.
Now more than ever, in this era of high stakes accountability, it is imperative that principals become informed and confident leaders of special education. This excellent resource provides educators with critical information to:
- Apply the features of "effective special education practices"
- Become comfortable with the core special education legal foundations
- Include students with disabilities in assessments and new accountability systems
- Use data for school improvement
- Create collaborations between general and special education teachers
- Foster a climate of shared responsibility for learning
Effective practice has always depended on having informed and committed principals. When special education "works," children learn and parents are confident and assured!
Margaret McLaughlin has been involved in special education all of her professional career, beginning as a teacher of students with serious emotional and behavior disorders. Currently she is the associate director of the Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children, a research institute within the College of Education at the University of Maryland. She directs several national projects investigating educational reform and students with disabilities, including the national Educational Policy Reform Research Institute (EPRRI), a consortium involving the University Maryland; The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO); and the Urban Special Education Collaborative. She also directs a national research project investigating special education in charter schools and leads a policy leadership doctoral and postdoctoral program in conducting large-scale research in special education.
McLaughlin has worked in Bosnia, Nicaragua, and Guatemala in developing programs for students with developmental disabilities. She has consulted with numerous state departments of education and local education agencies on issues related to students with disabilities and the impact of standards-driven reform policies. McLaughlin co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Goals 2000 and Students with Disabilities, which resulted in the report Educating One and All. She was a member of the NAS committee on the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education.
McLaughlin teaches graduate courses in disability policy and has written extensively in the area of school reform and students with disabilities. She earned her PhD at the University of Virginia and has held positions at the U.S. Office of Education and the University of Washington.
Victor W. Nolet is Director of Assessment and Evaluation for the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. His current interests include the impact of teacher education programs on P-12 student outcomes and the impact of accountability systems on students with disabilities. Address: Victor Nolet, Woodring College of Education, 251F Miller Hall, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA. 98225.
