Special Education Policy and Practice

What We Do

WestEd provides a deep and broad range of professional development, leadership, and research offerings for the field with a focus on centering equity and advancing opportunity.

Deepening State Educational Agency (SEA) Capacity

WestEd hosts two federally funded technical assistance centers designed to deepen SEA capacity to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) effectively—the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) and the Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR). States also contract directly with WestEd for assistance with policy and procedure development, evaluation, and related improvement activities.

We also partner with the IDEA Data Center (IDC), National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO), and Center for the Integration of IDEA Data (CIID). As part of our overall assistance to states, we help accountability and support systems improve the implementation of IDEA.

Creating a Rigorous and Accessible Learning Environment

We equip schools and districts with the tools to develop an aligned, equitable educational framework that ensures full participation in inclusive learning environments. We offer professional learning to facilitate collaboration through peer planning and observation, and feedback to help teachers learn and improve their practice.

Improving Outcomes Through Research, Evaluation, and Innovation

We apply innovative, rigorous research methods to solve pressing challenges in learner variability and special education.

Our Approach

WestEd helps schools and districts to develop aligned, equitable educational frameworks for inclusive learning environments. We offer technical assistance to states, professional learning to elevate instructional practice, and research and evaluation to solve pressing challenges in special education policy and practice.

Our professional learning experiences build upon the belief that all students are considered general education students first and that professional learning teams are representative of all internal and external partners.

Our research and evaluation team uses design thinking, systems frameworks, implementation science, and universal design for learning (UDL) to identify and develop evidence-based solutions across a deep and broad range of content domains.