States and local school districts are required by federal law to educate preschool age children with disabilities in typical early childhood programs alongside children who do not have disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. This policy brief provides an overview of the law and sets forth a list of policy recommendations that can help…

The study examines the status of providing services to children in out-of-district placements and the implementation of the least restrictive environment mandate for handicapped children. Part I reviews the statutory mandate for least restrictive placement and notes policy problems associated with the effort. Part II identifies state policies to…

The statewide (Oregon) survey of special education administrators, high school special education teachers, and parents of mildly disabled high school students investigated four areas of special education services: focus/content, discrepancies between availability and utilization, barriers to mainstreaming, and conditions required for improvement.…

This report evaluates Delaware's progress in providing a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for children with disabilities as required by Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Existing programs and services provide an array of placement alternatives for the delivery of special…

This review of effective practices in state-wide systems change was conducted as part of the PEERS (Providing Education for Everyone in Regular Schools) Project, a 5-year collaborative systems change project in California to facilitate the integration of students with severe disabilities previously at special centers into services at regular…

A program of curriculum revision at the state level is described including objectives such as increasing awareness of all students regarding disabilities and revising instructional methods to meet the needs of students with disabilities in regular settings. Coordination, training efforts, and expected results are considered. (PB)

This paper presents a summary of the current status of efforts to include students with mental retardation in mainstream educational programs. It begins with a summary of a New Jersey federal court's ruling requiring more inclusive education and a discussion of the commitment of the Arc (formerly The Association for Retarded Citizens of the United…

This brief paper summarizes survey materials gathered by the Multi-Agency Collaborative Initiative on Inclusive School Reform. The agencies involved are the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers and other…

This study evaluated the special education program of the Hawaii State Department of Education including identification of those program concerns, issues, and problems which need policy or administrative changes or further study. Data collection included document review, onsite interviews with stakeholders, and a questionnaire survey of school…

The executive summary of the ninth annual report to Congress examines progress made in implementing the requirements mandated by P.L. 94-142, the Education of the Handicapped Act, as amended by P.L. 98-199 with a specific focus on activities during the school year 1985-86. Data are presented regarding the four major purposes of the Act: (1) to…

Information on the implementation of services for preschool children with special needs and their families, acquired from a survey of 60 states and jurisdictions is presented. The information is organized into nine sections reflecting major state activities related to the Part B--Section 619 portion of the Individuals with Disabilities Education…

The report examines the status and needs of behaviorally handicapped students in Maine. It describes the referral and identification process, program characteristics, current problems and issues. The first section presents statistics related to prevalence, types of programs received, costs of special education, and the certification and supply of…

This study examined how Illinois and Massachusetts are attempting to establish a more inclusive educational system as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The study looked at factors affecting inclusion in six categories: (1) funding, (2) education delivery systems, (3) political climate, (4) Federal and State regulations…

This document presents the New Mexico State Plan for compliance with Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for the fiscal years 1995 through 1997. Part 1 presents submission statements and certification information. Part 2 then focuses on policy and procedure addressing compliance in the following areas: (1) the right to…

This guide, which is based on a 12-month study that examined the feasibility of and procedures for evaluating federal, state, and local supported employment programs for individuals with severe disabilities, discusses recommended data items and measures and presents guidelines for developing a data collection strategy and implementation plan.…