Published: Feb. 24, 2016
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The editors and editorial board of Rural Special Education Quarterly, the refereed journal of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES), have selected John Hoover’s research for the Research Article of the Year Award. 

Hoover and co-author Jennifer Erickson published "Culturally responsive special education referrals of English learners in one rural county school district: Pilot project" in Rural Special Education Quarterly in 2015.

The project setting was a rural county school district located in the mountain west with some overrepresentation of English Learners (ELs) in special education. Referral issues are especially prominent in rural school systems due to continued challenges associated with limited resources and lack of contemporary professional development. This article described the efforts of one rural school district to improve its referral process for ELs in grades K-5 implemented through a university-school district partnership. The researchers developed and piloted a culturally responsive referral guide with findings, providing promising implications for appropriate referrals of ELs in rural county school districts.

Hoover is associate research professor and project director for the BUENO Center. Hoover and Erickson will be honored at the ACRES Awards and Scholarship Luncheon at the Annual Conference scheduled for March 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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