Project OASIS – Optimizing Access for Students in Schools

Future focused research question

How can we create a future educational model where special education and labeling disabilities are not necessary for all students to have the optimal experience?

Description

Imagine a future in which the designations of “disability” and “special education” did not need to exist for all students to access the optimal educational experience and achieve their full potential. This interdisciplinary project aims to challenge the status quo of special education and consider – How do we create a system that does not require special education? In other words, what educational model(s) can we envision and build that maximizes access to needed supports and evidence-based practices for all children, including those historically served in special education? Project OASIS will collaboratively design a future in which our schools optimize the success of all students.

Learning From Each Other

The collaborative has monthly virtual meetings throughout the school year, with additional opportunities to participate in various in-person activities and tours throughout the academic year. There are currently four sub-groups that meet during the virtual meetings:

• Educator prep and professional learning
• Preparedness for college, careers, and independent living
• Innovative staffing models and positions in schools
• Future preschool models

We are honored to have 300 participants in the collaborative, including ASU faculty/staff, researchers, educators, district and charter leaders, business and non-profit leaders, public health experts, parents and community members from around Arizona.

If you are interested in joining Project OASIS, please e-mail Kathy Hoffman: katherine.hoffman@asu.edu

Resources

To highlight the work of our collaborative members, we launched the OASIS Substack. We invite you to check out the interviews to hear directly from Project OASIS members on their approach to inclusive practices and how they overcome challenges.

Professional Learning

To address the current needs of educators, we developed online courses that are available on the Professional Educator Learning Hub:

High Leverage Practices for the Classroom

Supporting Students with Autism in the Classroom

Low Intensity Behavior Supports for the Classroom

Grants

Spencer Foundation. What Works in Inclusive Classrooms? Exploring Whole-Child Practices that Support All Learners. P.I. Jesse Fleming, Co-PI, Erin Rotheram-Fuller.

Arizona State University, international collaborative partnership grant with Dublin City University. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Autism Inclusion in Mainstream Education. Co-PIs, Erin Rotheram-Fuller, Kathy Hoffman, Juliet Hart-Barnett, Jesse Fleming, Melisa Geiselhofer, Aoife Brennan, Anna Logan, Sylvia Kazmierczak-Murray, Carol-Ann O’Siorain, and Alan Gorman.

Publications

Hart-Barnett, J., Rotheram-Fuller, E., & Fleming, J. (in press). Reconceptualizing Inclusion: A Qualitative Exploration of Parental Perspectives on Autism-Specific Classrooms in Early Elementary Education. Early Childhood Education Journal.

King Thorius, K., Pandya, R., Rotheram-Fuller, E., White-Taylor, J., & Dorn, S. (2025). Many Voices,

One Future: Collective Re-searching and Re-imagining Education with Arizona State University’s Learning Futures Collaboratives and the Yidan Prize Foundation. Yidan Foundation

Conference Presentations

Hart-Barnett, J., Fleming, J., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2026). Beyond Placement: Parental Visions of Inclusion in Autism-Specific Early Childhood Classrooms. [Conference Roundtable Presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA), Los Angeles, CA, United States.

Hart-Barnett, J., Fleming, J., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2026, January 16). Parent Voices on Autism-Specific Classrooms: Rethinking Inclusion Through Lived Experiences. [Conference presentation]. Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities Education Conference on Autism, Intellectual Disability, and Other Developmental Disabilities, Long Beach, CA, United States.

Fleming, J., Spurlock, K.*, Wood, M., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2025, November 21). Supporting students with disabilities within an inclusion-focused district. [Conference Presentation]. Teacher Educators for Children with Behavior Disorders, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Hart-Barnett, J., Fleming, J., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2025, November 22). The Other Side of Inclusion: Parental Lenses on Autism Education. [Conference presentation]. Teacher Educators for Children with Behavior Disorders, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Hart-Barnett, J., Fleming, J., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2025, November 14). A Qualitative Study of Parental Perspectives on Autism-Specific Classrooms: Towards a More Nuanced Understanding of Inclusion. [Conference presentation]. Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, Kansas City, MO, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E., & Hoffman, K. (2025, July 30). Movie panel discussion of the movie “Is There Anybody Out There?” [Invited lecture]. Hosted by the Tempe Union High School District, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2025, March 28). Leading for dynamic learning systems. [Invited lecture]. Yidan Foundation conference, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Adams, J., Brownell, S., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2025, March 24). Movie panel discussion of the movie “Please Stand By.” [Invited lecture]. Hosted by the Bioethics, Health and Society Club at ASU, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E., *Spurlock, K., Hoffman, K., & Gray, S. (2024, November 22). Enhancing support for students with disabilities through interprofessional teaming. [Conference presentation]. Teacher Educators for Children with Behavioral Disorders, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Fleming, J., Rotheram-Fuller, E., Hart-Barnett, J. (2024, November 22). Experiences in autism specific classrooms. [Conference presentation]. Teacher Educators for Children with Behavioral Disorders, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E., Dixon, M., & Fleming, J. (2024, March 4). Understanding neurodiversity. Invited lecture for two Tempe Union High School honors classes, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Professional Development Trainings in Schools

Hagerty, N. (2025, October). Bridging differences: Inclusive practices for all learners. [Professional development training]. Tempe Union School District, Tempe, AZ, United States. 

Rotheram-Fuller, E., & Dixon, M. (2025, March 19). Interdisciplinary Teaming (Part II) within Mesa preschools. [Professional development training]. Mesa School District. Mesa, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2024, November 13). Supporting neurodiversity in schools. [Professional development training]. Kyrene School District, Chandler, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E., & Dixon, M. (2024, October 14). Understanding neurodiversity. [Professional development training]. Tempe Union School District, Tempe, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E., & Dixon, M. (2024, September 18). Developing interdisciplinary teaming between teachers and SLPs. [Professional development training for 80 SLPs]. Mesa School District, Mesa, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E., & Dixon, M. (2024, August 21). Preschool interdisciplinary teaming. [Professional development training for over 100 teachers and SLPs]. Mesa School District, Mesa, AZ, United States.

Atkinson, L., (2024; June 17). High leverage practices. Professional development training for the Buckeye School District, Buckeye, AZ, United States.

Atkinson, L., (2024; June 17). Pull out vs push in. Professional development training for the Buckeye School District, Buckeye, AZ, United States.

Atkinson, L., (2024; June 17). Inclusive Education. Professional development training for the Buckeye School District, Buckeye, AZ, United States.

Atkinson, L., (2024; June 6). Accommodations vs Modifications. Professional development training for the Buckeye School District, Buckeye, AZ, United States.

Atkinson, L., (2024; June 6). Differentiation. Professional development training for the Buckeye School District, Buckeye, AZ, United States.

Atkinson, L., (2024; June 6). Historical events. Professional development training for the Buckeye School District, Buckeye, AZ, United States.

Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2023; November 15). Social inclusion at school. Professional Development Training for the Madison School District, Phoenix, AZ, United States.