The report, "The Ready to Teach Program: A Federal Initiative in Support of Online Courses for Teachers", describes the history of the Ready to Teach Program and its role as one of the solutions to the national need to increase the performance of teachers through professional development. The report describes selected findings from the Eisenhower…

Accessing Curriculum through Technology Tools (ACTTT), a model development project, was developed and tested by staff of the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood (the Center), a research and development unit within the College of Education and Human Services at Western Illinois University. The major goal of ACTTT was to develop,…

This collection of conference proceedings focuses on the outreach projects of the Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP). The goals of these projects are (1) to stimulate quality services to preschool handicapped children, their families and teachers, and (2) to develop effective outreach models. Each of the five key objectives of…

Exemplary programs for special education of handicapped children are outlined in the National Diffusion Network (NDN) catalog. The 46 programs are listed with the following information: descriptors, target audience, description, evidence of effectiveness, implementation requirements, financial requirements, services available, and contact person.…

The paper, originally given at a 1986 Ethnic and Multicultural Symposium, reports the findings of school-based research in California to identify effective bilingual special education programs and instructional practices. The educational program at one model site (Azusa Unified School District) is described including the elementary school…

Focusing on vocational education programs that have been successful in increasing access to and performance in vocational education, this publication contains descriptions and abstracts of 137 programs for special needs populations. The first of two major sections contains sixteen site visit reports that include program name, address, contact…

This report presents an analysis of research on the state of transition, post-secondary education, and employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities over the past 25 years. It identifies what has worked in the areas of transition planning, services, and supports. It also considers what should work in light of unmet needs and…

This handbook describes the processes and techniques used to develop, implement, and evaluate four integrated vocational and academic learning programs in Wisconsin that included students from special populations. The handbook contains seven chapters. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the project, including the request for proposal process and…

This paper presents preliminary findings of a study evaluating effects of social service reform, school restructuring, and special education reform for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Specifically, the study is attempting to identify successful school-based models, explicate the interventions used, and…

Preliminary data comparing individualized education program (IEP) development in three demonstration and three nondemonstration sites show that demonstration sites had significantly more individuals attending IEP meetings, more service options on the IEP, and more best-practice elements included in the IEP. Suggests that the demonstration site…

An Illinois elementary school district concerned about unnecessary referrals for possible special education designed and piloted a regular education assistance team system which brought about greater regular teacher collaboration and increased accuracy in referral for case study evaluation. The building level teams consisted of regular education…

Profiles three program awards for exemplary rural special education practices. Describes an Arizona program that allows teachers to pursue advanced training without quitting their jobs, an Idaho program of work experience and transitional services for special education students, and a Virginia program for normalization of students labeled…

Profiles three programs recognized for exemplary rural special education programs. Describes a program for severely handicapped birth-through-three children in an isolated mountainous Tennessee community, a multidisciplinary special education team that provides an itinerant resource room for an Alaska school district of 22,000 square miles, and…

As part of Project IMPACT's efforts to develop procedures for complying with the impact requirements of Public Law 94-482, a case study was made of the Illinois Network of Exemplary Occupational Education Programs for Handicapped and Disadvantaged Students. The purpose of the Network was to expand the quantity and quality of special needs…

Intended to stimulate communication among the federal, state, intermediate, local, and postsecondary agencies that share responsibility for the improvement of education, this Department of Education catalog of exemplary educational programs describes all the projects dealt with in previous editions as well as providing information on more than 30…