Abstract:
IDEA students graduating at a rate far lower than their peers in the United States (Digest of Education Statistics, 2019). Students with disabilities are currently facing are entering post-secondary life with little or no understanding of their disability or how that disability may impact them in the future. The purpose of this study was to examine a public high school in Northeast Georgia with a lower graduation rate for special education students compared to non-disabled classmates to determine the factors impacting special education student graduation rates. In-depth interviews were used to examine the perceived relationship of the strategies and practices of special education teachers and SDT through the lens of high school graduation. Six veteran special education teachers who taught IDEA students in the general education setting were interviewed to gain an understanding of what policies, practices, and strategies they perceived to impact high school graduation. After interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded, five major themes emerged which were the IEP, Relationships, Positive Practices, and Challenges. These five themes contained the major findings of the study which were the IEP, student success, choice, relationships, consistency, evaluation, and human resources were all contributing factions to the graduation rate of IDEA students. This study may contribute to the body of research which could help educators along with policy makers better understand how to help students overcome the barriers that are believed to hinder IDEA students from graduating.
Keywords: Special Education, Graduation