The least restrictive environment (LRE) is the educational placement determined necessary for obtaining maximum educational benefits. The individualized education program (IEP) team determines the LRE after analyzing the student's academic and behavioral data and assessing the student's unique needs. Specific special educational labels may produce…

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 paper focuses on trends in the areas of emotional disabilities (ED) related to identification, programming considerations, and general delivery issues. An increase in the number of children identified as ED has affected the need for more programs and personnel for this group and on public awareness of the disability. Other trends are the use…

Three hundred individualized education programs (IEPs) and corresponding psychoeducational assessments were collected from the files of children who had been identified as educable mentally retarded (EMR), emotionally disturbed (ED), learning disabled (LD) and other. Frequency distributions were performed on the data obtained from the IEPs and…

This paper addresses two approaches to serving students at risk for or with emotional and/or behavioral disorders in general education settings: (1) use of individual behavior plans (IBPs), and (2) use of the combined classroom model. The process of developing an IBP is detailed, including when an IBP is developed, by whom it is developed, and the…

An alternative educational program, ADVANCE (Alternative Design for Vocational and Necessary Cognitive Education), was developed for emotionally disturbed secondary school students in New Jersey. To develop and modify social behaviors needed to complete academic and vocational training to facilitate a return to the mainstream of secondary…

The authors consider the special education research studies conducted for the Special Education Department of the Dallas Independent School District. The Dallas evaluation model utilized a modification of the CIPP model which delineated four kinds of evaluation information: context (which describes the state of the world before intervention),…

Arguing that only 13 percent of children with severe emotional disturbances are receiving adequate special education services in the least restrictive environment, this article presents strategies for parents to ensure appropriate responsiveness from placement and Individual Education Planning teams as well as advice regarding yearly reviews,…

The paper deals with a mental health program designed to treat the 2 1/2 to 5 year old Mexican American child with severe emotional or behavioral problems. Components of the program included a mutual agreement with Parent Child Centers (Headstart) in the community; staff who had expertise to evaluate, diagnose, design, and implement an individual…

The Mark Twain School provides a short term individualized educational program for seriously emotionally disturbed students with learning problems in grades 6 through 12 in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS). During the 1980-81 school year the Department of Educational Accountability, at the request of the Office of Continuum…

A sample of 212 Mississippi special education teachers responded to a questionnaire concerning their education, adequacy of their coursework, and their training needs in relation to PL 94-142. Identified inservice needs focused on individual education plans (IEPs), working with the emotionally disturbed, and cooperating with parents. (SJL)

The monograph describes the progress that has been made in exceptional child education in Alabama during the last decade and addresses needed areas of improvement. Brief sections focus on the following items: financing special education programs, instructional programing in local education agencies, individualized education plans, diagnosis of…

This module is designed to familiarize the student training to be a regular physical education teacher with the needs of mainstreamed handicapped students they are likely to encounter in a regular classroom situation and with how to meet these needs through modifying the regular physical education class. Topics covered are: (1) legal provisions of…

Based on a study of 30 exemplary programs in six states, this guide offers help to educators trying to serve students with mild learning handicaps (the learning disabled, mildly mentally retarded, and the mildly emotionally disturbed) in mainstream vocational classrooms. The document consists of seven chapters and an appendix. The first chapter…

The practicum report describes inservice training to increase mainstream elementary teachers' (N=15) awareness of the ramifications of having an emotionally handicapped child in the regular classroom through increased knowledge of the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) and its guidelines and procedures. The inservice program was developed and…