It was my belief then as now that students should not be coded, but that they should be provided appropriate services without a code. That belief was founded on the premise that we as psychologist were not uniform in our diagnosis and that the state and federal laws offered us little if any guidelines upon which to make such determinations. Now we are offered a new, revised version of the old SED definition. Now we are presented with a new definition. Is this one any more defining than the previous.
Educational performance includes academic, social vocational or personal skills.
Emotional or behavioral disorders can co-exist with other disabilities. Eligibility for special education services is and should be based on the effect of the disability on a student's educational performance. However, the new definition could allow many students with various mental health or simply behavioral problems to qualify for special education services. Maybe the federal government could help these students most effectively by increasing the funding for community mental health programs. Some of the students who would qualify for services under the new definition can act very aggressively or be chronic rule-breakers.