Implications of Emerging Educational Reforms for Individuals With Severe Disabilities

We summarize three changes in education that have direct relevance for the education of students with severe disabilities: (a) adoption of multi-tiered system of supports as a framework for intervention, (b) delivering educational reform at the “whole school” level, and (c) advances in information technology that are altering the type and utility of data available not just for policy making but for day-to-day decision making in schools. The opportunities that arise from these three changes hold promise for improving the education of students with severe disabilities, but only if educators, advocates, and decision makers capture and shape how these changes are applied.