The lack of clear language in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is the federal law that governs the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities in the USA, has led to inconsistencies in school districts' decisions regarding the least restrictive environment (LRE). This uncertainty…

Japan faces an educational challenge even after the start of a new special education system (Tokubetsushienkyouiku). This article addresses the legal framework of the special education system in Japan and analyzes the issues needed to be addressed to reinforce the inclusion of children with disabilities in public regular school settings. The…

The author considers the implications of minimum competency requirements for handicapped students, teachers of the handicapped, and mainstreaming. (SBH)

Medically fragile children do not always require special education services. However, teachers need specialized training before they can teach kids accompanied by life support equipment. Boston's Project School Care advises administrators to consider four sets of procedures: administrative guidelines, plans for providing health care services and…

Surveys ways in which criminal laws are finding their way into cyberspace, the implications of such actions for communicative rights and liabilities, and the media differentials of crime and punishment. Examines crime committed using email and the Internet; computer mediated felonies, misdemeanors, and violations committed in cyberspace; forgery;…

The paper discusses the lack of governmental guidance in providing for the rights of handicapped children in Scotland. (PHR)

The legal implications of exclusionary practices, integration, and program adjustments, modification, and supplementary services for special needs students in vocational education are discussed. In reply, B. Balow does not foresee the courts attempting to judge which technology should be used with handicapped students. See also EC 133 816-823. (CL)

School administrators are caught between the special education requirements of a free appropriate education and the mainstreaming preference embodied in federal law. This article analyzes circuit court cases and explains four overlapping judicial standards that influence mainstreaming decisions. Administrators should avoid blanket-separation and…

Mandating inclusion for all special-needs students would return education to the 1950s, when student options were extremely limited. Full inclusion, requiring the regular education teacher to learn a monumental number of additional skills, may be state-of-the-art education for the 90s--the 1890s. Restricting all students to the same learning…

This article addresses legal concerns regarding the use of level systems to manage students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Concerns pertain to a failure to individualize the program, including restricted access to the least restrictive environment, curricular issues, and procedural concerns. A decision-making model to aid in designing…

The second of two issues addresses topics related to mainstreaming of handicapped children. Considered in nine articles are the following topics: the administrator's role; legal issues involved in the least restrictive environment specification of P.L. 94-142, the Education For All Handicapped Children Act; parents' and teachers' views regarding…

The U. S. Court of Appeals ruled that District of Columbia schools had not followed procedural requirements for the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the "no pass-no play" rule that requires students participating in extracurricular activities to meet academic criteria. (MLF)

Answers to questions about institutional obligations under Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 illustrate the legal issues that may confront college administrators as they make efforts to comply. Topics include: institutions that are covered, individuals who are protected, reasonable accommodation, affirmative action, and legal…

This article examines three legal and policy issues affecting students with emotional and behavioral disorders: placement in the least restrictive environment; discipline of students who present a danger to staff and students; and inclusion of students with disabilities in accountability and assessment programs. (DB)

Federal regulations regarding the handicapped pose problems for recipients of federal aid, but higher education's reactions have been more positive than negative. The principle problems seem to be compliance costs, the need for interpretation of the regulations, and difficulties in the areas of admissions and academic requirements. (Author/JMD)