The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that schools assist students with disabilities to develop independent living skills and abilities essential to succeed in most of their life's endeavors. According to the law, each student with a disability must have an individualized education program (IEP), and the IEP must address…

The changing of the political and economic systems in Poland ushered in changes in the education system, including special education. After many years of segregation and social exclusion of children with disabilities, ideas of autonomy, normalization, and integration initiated the building of a modern system of education of children and youth.…

Among findings were that relative locations of special education classrooms are similar for both urban and suburban school systems and that the locations of special education classrooms tended to be closer to the mainstream rather than distant. (SW)

Regular and special class placement of handicapped children is discussed in terms of teacher needs, individualized programing, research, and the role of individuals other than the teacher who are responsible for inadequate progress in special classrooms. (SBH)

The authors, asserting that proponents of integration have often built their arguments on mistaken assumptions, proceed to discuss these assumptions with regard to emotionally disturbed/behavior disordered children and present arguments for segregation and an appropriate procedure for reintegration. (Author)

The article traces the history of mass segregation of handicapped students in U.S. public schools, notes the advent of the concepts of mainstreaming and least restrictive environment, and analyzes such ramifications of mainstreaming as increased numbers of handicapped students in college and re-emergence of "tracking" or ability grouping. (CL)

The author asserts that for many types of learning disabled students, integration with regular class students is desirable, and that a comprehensive analysis of the educational service delivery system is needed to achieve this goal. Disadvantages of the special class arrangement are described in terms of cost benefit, psychological growth of the…

A group of researchers from Syracuse University's School of Education (New York) conducted 25 case studies of local school programs that had been nominated by teachers, administrators, and parents as being exemplary in integrating children with disabilities into the mainstream of education. The 12 case studies selected for this volume represent…

Issues concerning the interpretation and application of the "least restrictive environment" (LRE) principle for handicapped children are examined. Overly optimistic predictions about the use of regular class placements for all exceptional children are cautioned against, and issues regarding LRE in private schools and separate segregated…

Types of training considered include selecting target behaviors which are likely to be maintained by natural consequences, promoting self-management skills, and extending stimulus control through creating similarities between the special and regular class settings and matching the regular class reinforcement frequency in the special class. (DB)

Fifty primary research studies of special versus regular class placement were selected for use in a meta-analysis. Special classes were found to be significantly inferior to regular class placement for students with below average IQs and significantly superior to regular classes for behaviorally disordered, emotionally disturbed, and learning…

Factors involved in the decision to place a learning disabled child in a mainstream or special class setting include the classroom situation (class size and teacher training); the child (behavior, academic ability, and social competence); and the parents. (CL)

The study compared the physical fitness of 283 segregated resident, 64 segregated nonresident, and 137 integrated visually impaired subjects aged 10 to 17 years. Results indicated that educational environment (favoring the segregated environment) was a significant factor on four of the six items in the physical fitness test battery. (Author/DB)

The article responds to a criticism (EC 221 612) of a previous article by the authors (EC 212 323) and suggests the criticism is biased. They note the fallacy of value-free research, reject the allegation that their bias guided their research, and identify points of agreement and disagreement with the criticism. (DB)

Data from the 1985-86 Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth indicated that fewer students are enrolled in special schools. This article discusses possible consequences of movement of deaf students into the local schools and questions whether local schools can provide the educational resources and special services needed by these…