Exploring Patterns in Due Process Hearing Decisions Regarding the Usage of One-on-One Inclusion Aides for Students with Disabilities

• Main Author: Perkins, Joel K.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2017
• Subjects: One-on-one aide; behavioral aide; inclusion; least restrictive environment; autism; due process hearings; Educational Leadership
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6825; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7825&context=etd

This study reviews due process hearing decisions from the years 2014 and 2015. This is primarily a legal analysis, specifically looking at legal and regulatory patterns regarding the provision of one-on-one special education aides for students with disabilities in general education settings. Our findings from the due process hearing decisions reveal that one-on-one aides for students with a wide variety of disabilities are being provided with greater frequency than we anticipated and that, specifically, behavioral aides are being provided for students with autism. Decisions of disabilities such as hearing impairment have higher provision rates, while other disabilities like autism and emotional disturbance do not see the same rate of provision. There are clear patterns of differences between the states in the number of cases that reach due process hearings and in the number of one-on-one aides provided.