Newsletter
Volume 30 | 2007 | Number 3
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act and Peer-Reviewed Research
By Dr. Mitchell L. Yell, University of South Carolina
In October 2001, President Bush established the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education. The Commission was charged with providing recommendations to Congress on how it could (a) improve the educational performance of students with disabilities and (b) reform the special education system in America’s public schools. The report was to be issued prior to Congress’ reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In July 2001, the Commission issued A new era: Revitalizing special education for children and their families. One of the major findings of the Commission was that for public schools to improve the academic achievement and functional performance of students with disabilities, special educators must embrace educational practices that have been demonstrated to be effective by rigorous scientific research. Unfortunately, schools too often rely on programs and practices that have not been proven to work at the expense of students. Meaningful improvement in the system will only occur, according to the Commission, when educators intervene early and aggressively using high quality research based approaches.
In the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (hereafter IDEIA), Congress acted on the Commission’s recommendations by making a number of important changes to the special education process. Perhaps, the most important and significant of the changes is the requirement that special education services must be based on “peer-reviewed research.” Specifically, section 1414 (d)(1)(A)(i)(IV) of IDEIA requires that the individualized education program (IEP) include: “a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child” [IDEA, 20 U.S.C. § 1414 (d)(1)(A)(i)(IV)].
The inclusion of this terminology in the law is very significant because it requires that when students’ IEP teams develop their special education programs, the services that are provided must be based on reliable evidence that the program or service works. Moreover, special education will need to collect require evidence in the form of data-based documentation that reflects a student’s progress during instruction through repeated assessments. By requiring special education programs to be based on peer-reviewed research, Congress sought to bring the IDEA into alignment with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and its heavy emphasis on using instructional procedures, interventions, and curricula that have been demonstrated to be effective by “scientifically-based research.” Although IDEA 2004 does not define peer-reviewed research, the 2006 regulations clearly defined this term in accordance with NCLB’s requirement regarding scientifically-based research (IDEA Regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.315 et seq.). According to NCLB, instructional interventions that are based on scientific research meet the following six criteria.
1. Studies that have been done with the instructional intervention have used systematic empirical methods based on observation and experiments.
2. Researchers have collected and analyzed data test the instructional intervention.
3. The research has been conducted on the instructional intervention have used measurements and observations that provide reliable and valid data from independent observers.
4. The research that has been conducted on the instructional intervention has used either experimental or quasi experimental designs.
5. The experimental studies have been reported in full detail so that others could replicate the study.
6. The instructional interventions have been published in peer-reviewed journals (e.g., the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Exceptional Children, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities).
Furthermore, professional development activities and use of funds must be grounded in scientifically based research and must focus on improving student academic achievement. These provisions will have a direct impact on school administrators who develop in-service teacher training programs, approve staff development activities, and evaluate teacher performance.
What does this new requirement mean for teachers of students with disabilities? To be in compliance with this new requirement teachers should take the following actions:
First and foremost, special education teachers must use academic and behavioral interventions that have support in the research literature. This means that we shouldn’t use an intervention because (a) they have always used it, or (b) it sounds good or feels right, or (c) a colleague told them about it; rather we should use interventions that empirical research has proven to be successful in teaching behavioral and academic skills to students with disabilities.
Second, teachers must understand and be able to describe the research behind the interventions that they use in their programs. Because this is now a legal requirement, it is legitimate for a parent in an IEP meeting to inquire about the research base for an intervention that is being used and it is up to the teacher to be able to answer these questions. Additionally, the peer-reviewed research requirement will certainly result in due process hearings and litigations (e.g., a parent contends that the school is not using research-based strategies while the school contends that the procedure a parent is insisting on is not based on research). Clearly in hearings of this nature, if a teacher is called to testify no doubt the first question asked by the parent’s attorney will no doubt be “What peer-reviewed research literature supports your programming.” And, of course, the attorney will already know the research base and will certainly challenge the teacher on his or her knowledge of the research base.
Third, teachers must keep abreast of the research base in academic and behavioral interventions for students with disabilities. This is where professional organizations, such as the Association for Behavior Analysis International and Council for Exceptional Children can provide useful information on current research. Additionally, they should regularly read research journals in their areas of interest (e.g., Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disorders, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis). Teachers should also attend the state and national conferences of their professional organization. Local university programs in special education can also be good sources for information. School districts need to develop mechanisms to ensure that their teachers are fluent and current in research-based practices.
Fourth, teachers must keep records of the research base behind the interventions and procedures that are in a student’s IEP. For example, if a teacher uses differential reinforcement of low rates of behavior, the teacher should note the research that supports this procedure in their records. Records will help you be prepared for questions and challenges on their use of evidence supported education practices. These records could also assist teachers in defending their IEPs and help dissuade parents from insisting on the use of unproven practices.
Fifth, special education teachers are charged with delivering a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all students with disabilities with whom they work. Courts have defined a FAPE as an individualized program of special education services that confers meaningful educational benefit on a student. The only way that teachers can ensure educational benefit for their students is to use data collection procedures (e.g., single-subject research designs, curriculum-based measurement) to monitor the progress of students in their instructional programs. These data should be collected during the course of instruction, so that the teacher’s instructional decisions are guided by what the student is currently doing or not doing. The purpose of collecting data is to provide objective evidence of a program’s effectiveness and to guide instructional decisions. Teachers can ensure that they provide meaningful instruction by collecting useful data on a student’s progress and then by using the data to inform their instructional decisions. In other words, teachers can adjust their instruction in response to student performance, thereby helping to ensure that students receive a FAPE.
The IDEIA’s requirement that special education teachers base their programs on peer-reviewed research will result in stronger and more effective programs for students in special education programs. It has always been best practice to know and implement these research-based procedures. Now it is the law.