ABSTRACT

The charge of federal mandates to narrow the achievement gap of all students who struggle (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act [IDEA], 2004; No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2001) has created a climate in which the needs of students with disabilities (SWD) are on the radar screens of high school stakeholders. In this climate it is no longer possible to marginalize these students, because their success is important to the overall performance of the school. For example, prior NCLB provisions and the current implementation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) require states to have accountability systems in place that disaggregate data by disability status in reporting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) (U.S. Department of Education, 2010).