Federal mandates with a strict emphasis on early literacy and accountability (No Child Left Behind Act) in combination with legislation to increase the level of inclusive service for students with disabilities (Gaskin v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) promotes a climate where research into evidence-based practice is necessary, particularly for students with an emotional disturbance. Over the past decade, the American educational system has witnessed a trend in serving more students in an inclusive setting. It is necessary that we begin to explore the utility of empirically based reading interventions in applied, inclusive settings for students with an emotional disturbance. The current study examined an empirically supported reading intervention (Sonday System) in an applied, inclusive setting to determine academic and/or behavioral benefit for students diagnosed with emotional disturbance. The study allowed for measures of treatment integrity and treatment acceptability as well as a measure of family involvement. The results of the study indicated that the Sonday System yielded academic benefit in the area of oral reading fluency for students diagnosed with an emotional disturbance. The data also illustrated that the teacher found the intervention to be highly acceptable for students with emotional disturbance and the families reported an average to high level of involvement in terms of home-school conferencing. The positive outcome of the current study offers insight and understanding into the early literacy skills of students with emotional disturbance while promoting a dialogue among educational leaders as to the benefits of effective educational policies and programs for students with emotional disturbance.