Standards' Impact for Special Ed. is Weighed

For students who are disabled, guidance brings hurdles and opportunity.

Special education advocates are greeting the burgeoning common academic standards movement with a mixture of optimism and caution.

Adopted so far by 36 states and the District of Columbia, the common academic standards were developed with the backing of two national groups based in Washington, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association . The intent of the effort, which is also getting support from federal education officials, is to provide clear guideposts for what students at each grade level should know and be able to do. The standards also offer an opportunity for students covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, to have access to the same rigorous coursework that is offered to their peers in general education, the standards writers believe.

But the standards-content creators intentionally have not spelled out how the new curricula should be taught to a student population with a range of physical and cognitive needs. They have made clear, however, that all types of accommodations and supports should be considered that maintain the...