Specially Designed Instruction: The Definitive Guide (Special Education Law, Policy, and Practice)

Specially Designed Instruction: The Definitive Guide is an indispensable tool for anyone invested in the education of students with disabilities. The distinctiveness of this book lies in its focused approach on SDI, providing evidence-based strategies, practical applications, and addressing legal and ethical considerations in special education. This book stands out by offering a step-by-step guide for determining SDI, examples/nonexamples, case studies, clear objectives, and key vocabulary. This targeted approach results in a practical guide educators, administrators, and families can use to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Moreover, the book is designed to be inclusive and applicable across demographic spectra, emphasizing the intersectionality of students in special education, and ensuring content is relevant and applicable to all students entitled to a free appropriate public education. This book will ensure educators are well-equipped to meet the needs of their students effectively.

Margaret P. Weiss, PhD, associate professor of special education at George Mason University, is a leading researcher of co-teaching and teacher preparation, author, and special educator.

Michael Faggella-Luby, PhD, is a Professor of Special Education and Core Faculty of the Alice Neeley Special Education Research and Service (ANSERS) Institute. He was a high school teacher and administrator in Florida. Dr. Faggella-Luby teaches courses related to preparing educators to evaluate, select, plan, and implement research-based methods and instructional materials for teaching students with and without disabilities who are at risk for failure. His scholarly interests focus on learning disabilities, literacy, reading education, special education, diverse learning needs, instructional design, secondary education, and school reform. He has written publications related to cognitive learning strategies, response-to-intervention (RtI)/scientifically research-based instruction (SRBI), self-determination, literacy, and urban school reform. Dr. Faggella-Luby’s primary research interest focuses on embedding instruction in learning strategies into subject-area courses to improve reading comprehension for all levels of learners. He received the 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award from the Council for Learning Disabilities and the 2007 Annual Dissertation Award from CEC’s Division of Learning Disabilities for his dissertation study Embedded Learning Strategy Instruction: Story-Structure Pedagogy in Secondary Classes for Diverse Learners. He is past president of the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Lisa Goran, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an associate teaching professor at the University of Missouri in the Department of Special Education where she serves as the Director of Teacher Education and Director of Undergraduate Studies for Special Education, and teaches and coordinates courses in special education for students pursuing teacher certification. She is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has worked in school, clinical, and private practice settings. She also is a Special Educator who taught students with disabilities in self-contained, resource, and co-taught general education classrooms, and served as a building-level Department Chair for Special Education. Dr. Goran earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Missouri. She is active in national- and state-level professional organizations related to speech-language pathology (ASHA; MSHA), special education (CEC: CASE, DLD, TED; MO-CASE), and teacher education (AACTE; MACTE). She recently co-authored Related Services in Special Education: Working Together as a Team. She also has co-authored chapters in the following books: Advances in Special Education: Advancing Values, Legally Compliant IEPs, Developing Educationally Meaningful and Legally Sound IEPs, and Sexuality Education for Students with Disabilities. Dr. Goran hosts a podcast, Think Aloud with Dr. G, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Audible, or where you get your podcasts.

David F. Bateman, PhD, is a Special Education Consultant, and Professor Emeritus at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania for hundreds of hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities and to prevent and to recover from due process hearings. He has been a classroom teacher of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and hearing impairments, and a building administrator. Dr. Bateman earned a PhD in special education from the University of Kansas. Over the past 28 years he has either been a hearing officer or consultant on over 1,005 special education lawsuits. He frequently is a keynote presenter at principal and administrator conferences. He has recently co-authored the following books: A Principal’s Guide to Special Education, A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education, Charting the Course: Special Education in Charter Schools, Special Education Leadership: Building Effective Programming in Schools, Current Trends and Legal Issues in Special Education, and A School Board Members Guide to Special Education. He has also recently worked as the neutral fact-finder in the class action lawsuit involving the Oregon Department of Education. After the 2017 Supreme Court decision in Endrew F., the U.S. Department of Education reached out to him to develop a training module for administrators on legally compliant IEPs. He is co-author of the special education legal blog:SPEDLAWBLOG.com