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Emotional Disturbance (ED) is one category under which a student can be evaluated and determined eligible to receive special education and related services. Students who experience ED are at greater risk for a host of negative long-term outcomes that include poor social, behavioral, and academic achievement in school, which in turn may impact graduation and postsecondary outcomes. In this article, we provide historical context and current data to highlight contemporary issues surrounding the needs and education of students with ED. Specifically, we present child-count data and descriptions of students that are currently served in the ED category. We provide information about the frequency and types of disciplinary events students with ED experience and discuss associated secondary and postsecondary outcomes. We summarize positive achievements and continued challenges within the field. Finally, derived from the ongoing unmet needs of students with and at risk for ED, we recommend (a) revision of the current Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act terminology and eligibility criteria to a more comprehensive education-based definition; (b) regular universal screening for signs of social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems; (c) use of multitiered systems of support that offer preventive interventions to address the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students, particularly when they first emerge; and (d) integrated delivery models that allow greater access to related services to enhance the benefits of special education for students with ED.

The Peacock Hill Working Group (PHWG) published a seminal position article nearly 30 years ago on the state of the field of special education for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). They concluded their discussion with a set of recommendations for practice, policy, and research. The purpose of the present article is to revisit the PHWG’s calls to the field with an emphasis on setting a research agenda related to children and youth with EBD. As a follow-up to the problems and promises identified by the PHWG, we identify progress and priorities for each of their six calls for research to improve outcomes for students with EBD. We address the broader context underlying each recommendation and how it has changed over time, describe research progress to date, and identify priorities to move the field forward. The overarching goal of this article is to inform and help shape the next phase of research on EBD, which in turn will advance the implementation and scale-up of effective programs and practices to better meet the needs of students with EBD in schools.

Since the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 of clade 2.3.4.4b as a novel reassortant virus from subtype H5N8, the virus has led to a massive number of outbreaks worldwide in wild and domestic birds. Compared to the parental HPAIV H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b, the novel reassortant HPAIV H5N1 displayed an increased ability to escape species barriers and infect multiple mammalian species, including humans. The virus host range has been recently expanded to include ruminants, particularly dairy cattle in the United States, where cattle-to-cattle transmission was reported. As with the avian 2.3.4.4.b H5N1 viruses, the cattle-infecting virus was found to transmit from cattle to other contact animals including cats, raccoons, rodents, opossums, and poultry. Although replication of the virus in cows appears to be mainly confined to the mammary tissue, with high levels of viral loads detected in milk, infected cats and poultry showed severe respiratory disease, neurologic signs, and eventually died. Furthermore, several human infections with HPAIV H5N1 have also been reported in dairy farm workers and were attributed to exposures to infected dairy cattle. This is believed to represent the first mammalian-to-human transmission report of the HPAIV H5N1. Fortunately, infection in humans and cows, as opposed to other animals, appears to be mild in most cases. Nevertheless, the H5N1 bovine outbreak represents the largest outbreak of the H5N1 in a domestic mammal close to humans, increasing the risk that this already mammalian adapted H5N1 further adapts to human-to-human transmission and starts a pandemic. Herein, we discuss the epidemiology, evolution, pathogenesis, and potential impact of the recently identified HPAIV H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in dairy cattle in the United States. Eventually, interdisciplinary cooperation under a One Health framework is required to be able to control this ongoing HPAIV H5N1 outbreak to stop it before further expansion of its host range and geographical distribution.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) experience a variety of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, gaps in academic achievement, and increased rates of dropping out of school. Thus, it is essential that students with EBD receive evidence-based academic and behavioral supports from skilled and knowledgeable teachers to improve student outcomes. Unfortunately, teachers typically receive limited professional development in classroom management practices and other supports targeting the unique needs of students with EBD. In this manuscript, we describe (a) challenges in the field related to supporting students with EBD, (b) current practices in professional development, (c) a multitiered-system-of-support framework for organizing and providing professional development, and (d) the need for more research on efficient and effective professional-development supports for teachers of students with EBD.

Students with or at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders pose an immense challenge for educators, and typical practices to address them are punitive and exclusionary, leading to poor academic and social outcomes for students. To address the complex needs of students with intensive emotional and behavioral needs, evidence-based practices and strategies that have been validated through rigorous research are needed. In this article, we describe evidence-based practices for creating positive and effective classrooms environments as well as illustrate implementation factors that are key to successful and sustained use of evidence-based practices in school settings.

In this overview of implementation science and implementation fidelity in the field of learning disabilities, authors provide a brief summary of current research related to implementation science followed by an introduction of the articles in this special series. Authors emphasize the relationship between the effectiveness of interventions and the difficulty of their implementation, highlighting the importance of considering both when adopting new interventions in the field of learning disabilities. The authors then turn their attention to the need for implementation science and implementation fidelity to be considered at all stages of research from program or intervention development to efficacy and effectiveness trials through large-scale implementation in real-world settings. An overview of active implementation frameworks as proposed by the National Implementation Research Network as well as a discussion on the importance of research–practice partnerships when implementing programs and interventions in the field of learning disabilities are also included.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) consistently lag behind their peers academically and behaviorally, are likely to be excluded from school, drop out more frequently, and face higher incarceration rates and a host of other negative outcomes as adults. Federal policy has played a key role in (a) ensuring that students with disabilities are included in schools, (b) requiring schools to meet the unique needs of learners, and (c) providing funding to support the development and implementation of evidence-based practices. Our purpose in this article is to examine the progress and challenges related to the development of federal policy supports for students with EBD, and to offer recommendations to help guide the future development of policy. Specifically, we (a) recognize the important developments of the last 30 years in policy protections and funding for students with EBD, (b) identify current challenges and emerging opportunities in several areas related to the identification and support of students with EBD, and (c) offer policy recommendations related to strengthening the use of the functional assessment and personnel capacity development.

Decades of research and billions of dollars have been spent to develop and evaluate evidence-based interventions and develop multitiered systems of support (MTSS) toward the goal of more effectively delivering interventions and improving student outcomes. Available evidence, however, suggests interventions are often adopted slowly and delivered with poor fidelity, resulting in uninspiring outcomes for students. The field of implementation science has emerged to address the science-to-practice gap in human service sectors (e.g., education) as a way of improving service recipient (e.g., student) outcomes. For the considerable investment in school-based intervention development and evaluation to have a significant public health impact for students, educators must integrate key findings from implementation science into their practice and research. Toward this end, the purpose of this article is four-fold. First, it overviews implementation science and implementation theories, models, and frameworks. Second, it discusses the relevance of implementation science and fidelity to both the systems-level implementation of MTSS and individual-level implementation of interventions to students with learning disability (LD). Third, it reviews the unique legal aspects related to service implementation for students with LD and the gap between state-level mandates and available science. Finally, it provides additional resources and recommendations for readers.

The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate a measure of motivation for use with basic college writers that would measure self-efficacy, achievement goals, beliefs, and affect. As part of a design research project on curriculum for community college developmental writing classes, 133 students in 11 classes completed the motivation scales at the beginning and end of the semester along with measures of writing quality. Single factors were found for self-efficacy and affect. For goal orientation, factors were found for mastery, performance, and avoidance goals. For beliefs, factors were found for beliefs related to the content of writing and to conventions. Anticipated patterns of correlations among the factors were found. The validity of the scales was further supported by significant differences in the anticipated direction between higher and lower level classes on five of seven factors. In addition, significant changes were noted from pretest to posttest in the anticipated direction on six of seven factors.

In this closing commentary to the special edition of Learning Disability Quarterly (LDQ) on parent voice in educational decision making for students with learning disabilities, we briefly survey main topics from each article, illuminating important findings from the authors, along with several questions they raise, and identify themes that reverberate throughout them as a collection. Subsequently, we offer suggestions to improve parental involvement in the decision-making process, in particular, the negotiation of Individualized Education Programs. In doing so, we emphasize the onus placed upon school professionals to better understand parental positionalities and needs, be culturally cognizant and competent in interactions, with the specific purpose of consciously addressing power differentials that have historically inhibited authentic parent–professional relationships. Finally, we end with a short note on the research methodologies used in this special edition.