With the passage of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and subsequent amendments, states and jurisdictions have made great strides in the provision of services to young children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities. As of Fall 2007, America's…

This paper offers a list of questions and corresponding answers about the 4-year cohort graduation rate. Answers to the following questions are presented: (1) Why don't GED (General Educational Development) students count as graduates?; (2) How does a district code students who have moved out of state? How should a district code a student who…

Alternative education programs (also called alternative schools) first appeared on the American landscape in the 1960s. Despite the proliferation of these programs, a generic description of what constitutes an alternative education program, historically, has been elusive. Most alternative education programs have the general criteria of serving…

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funds schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states across the nation. Of the 183 schools, 59 are Bureau operated and 124 are tribally controlled. One-hundred and sixteen schools provide instructional programs, 55 provide instructional as well as boarding services and 12 peripheral dormitories provide only…

The computer-managed IEP systems described in this article provide a good sample of what is currently available. After previewing several of them and reviewing the rest, the authors believe that these types of systems have the potential to benefit teachers, administrators, and parents as well as students. They create reports in a more timely and…

School counselors provide a variety of services to students with disabilities, and becoming involved in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process is an opportunity through which school counselors can demonstrate their unique contributions. The authors highlight specific skills (e.g., group facilitation, consultation) and developmental…

The responsibility for providing safe transportation for travelers seated in wheelchairs is shared by many stakeholders, including wheelchair and tiedown/restraint manufacturers, vehicle modifiers and equipment installers, transit providers, rehabilitation technology suppliers, wheelchair/seating clinicians, and even informed and responsible…

The key to a well-written, well-reasoned Individualized Education Program (IEP) is clearly identifying and writing measurable goals and objectives. The single most important part of that process is identifying and understanding a student's needs. This essential first step is the best way to prepare for the search that will produce the most…

The North Carolina Department of Correction, Division of Prisons, provides two deinstitutionalization services for mentally retarded, incarcerated offenders. These projects, funded by monies provided by the Council on Developmental Disabilities, serve mentally retarded youthful offenders (age 17-21) and retarded female offenders regardless of age.…

In the fall of 1974, a teacher preparation project for community college vocational/technical teachers in Texas was initiated by the Texas Education Agency and resulted in the creation of a systems approach model for planning, developing, and implementing instruction that might be adapted to all instructional and training programs. Based on the…

A case study, in-depth description, and analysis of a youth tutoring youth program are presented in this document. The approach used in preparing the study--mainly utilizing participant observation, site visits, and structured interviews--are detailed in a separate chapter. This is followed by a chapter of background information in which the…

Computer technology has been used since 1972 in the Madison, Wisconsin, public schools to control the flow of information required to support individualized instruction. Madison's computer-managed instruction system, MICA (Managed Instruction with Computer Assistance), operates interactively within individualized instruction programs to provide…

This booklet describes the Saturday School, a school and home learning program for four-year old children, which emphasis the identification and remediation of learning problems. The program includes: (1) individual diagnosis of children's needs and abilities, (2) half-day Saturday school sessions, (3) weekly home teaching visits, and (4) parent…

An administrator describes a systematic approach to develop, store, and recall individualized education programs (IEPs) for handicapped students. The approach is designed to reduce time requirements and make classroom supervision and long term student data management more efficient. A thesaurus (presently, over 4,000 entries are stored in the…

Moving from middle school to high school can be challenging and exciting, but students with special needs may need to begin preparing for the move earlier than other students. As with other major changes in a child's life, the move to high school will go more smoothly if parents gather information and do some planning. A good time to begin…