IDEA National Assessment Implementation Study. Final Report. NCEE 2011-4027
Author: Bradley, M.C.
Date: 2011-07-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Disabilities,Outcomes of Education,Federal Legislation,Educational Objectives,Educational Assessment,Program Effectiveness,Early Intervention,Incidence,Identification,Academic Standards,Conflict Resolution,Parent Student Relationship,School Districts,Program Implementation,Program Evaluation

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 is the most recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), federal legislation specifically focused on the education of children with disabilities. Section 664(b) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 requires that the Secretary of Education delegate to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) responsibility for conducting an assessment of national activities under the law, known as the National Assessment of IDEA. The goals of the National Assessment of IDEA are: to determine the effectiveness of IDEA in achieving its purposes; to provide timely information to the President, Congress, the States, local educational agencies and the public on how to implement this title more effectively; and to provide the President and Congress with information that will be useful in developing legislation to achieve the purposes of this title more effectively. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act National Assessment Implementation Study (IDEA-NAIS) is one study of the implementation of IDEA programs that contributes to the overall National Assessment of IDEA. IES initiated a design study advised by practitioners, researchers and evaluation experts to develop research questions and approaches to address the goals for the National Assessment of IDEA (Fiore et al. 2007). The design study prioritized areas for inclusion in the IDEA-NAIS. Ultimately, IES identified four focal areas: services to young children with disabilities; identification of children and youth with disabilities; efforts to promote positive developmental and educational outcomes for children and youth with disabilities; and dispute resolution. The IDEA-NAIS collected information to answer four broad research questions: (1) What are the IDEA Part C early intervention service delivery models for infants and toddlers and how are IDEA Part C programs coordinated with IDEA Part B special education programs for preschool-age children, specifically in the support of children who may transition across programs?; (2) How are state agencies and school districts implementing the IDEA provisions to prevent inappropriate identification?; (3) How are state early intervention agencies, state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) implementing measures to improve child and youth outcomes through developmental and academic standards and qualified staff?; and (4) To what extent do state agencies and school districts engage in dispute resolution with parents and guardians, and how has the incidence of disputes changed since the 2003-2004 school year? Within each area, the IDEA-NAIS focuses on the implementation of select provisions of IDEA that were introduced or revised in the 2004 reauthorization of the law and complements the work of the other National Assessment of IDEA studies. The IDEA-NAIS also examines key IDEA provisions that were introduced prior to the 2004 authorization but were not included in earlier national studies. This report presents key findings of the IDEA-NAIS related to each of the four research questions. Appended are: (1) Technical Appendix; (2) Supplemental Exhibits for Chapter 1; (3) Supplemental Exhibits for Chapter 2; (4) Supplemental Exhibits for Chapter 3; (5) Supplemental Exhibits for Chapter 4; (6) The Congruence among Different Data Sources on the Incidence of Dispute Resolution Events; and (7) Supplemental Exhibits for Chapter 5. (Contains 260 exhibits and 51 footnotes.) [For &quot;National Assessment of IDEA Overview. NCEE 2011-4026,&quot; see ED522068.]