Federal law under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act stipulates that services provided to students with diagnosed disabilities must be (a) individualised based on the assessed needs of each student and (b) include the fewest restrictions necessary to achieve students' personalised goals. However, determining the level…

General and special education teachers in a northern California school district (NCSD) have concerns about the academic performance of students with learning disabilities (SwLD) as they frequently have deficits in English language arts and math on state-mandated assessments. Teachers at NCSD were concerned about the pull-out model where SwLD are…

Principals are held accountable for achievement results of students on state-mandated assessments. Special needs students who struggle with literacy can impact the pass rates on these assessments. This study identifies how reading is taught to special needs students in both self-contained and inclusion settings at the secondary level in one school…

Structured interviews were conducted with 72 teachers to evaluate the policy that waived full certification requirements for resource specialists serving disabled students in California. The waiver was allowed to meet the need for resource specialists as required by the California Master Plan for Special Education. The waivers are granted on the…

Results of a national survey indicated that the resource room was the most frequently used alternative to the regular education classroom for special education students, and the one most often used to serve the mildly-to-moderately handicapped. The amount of time that students spent in programs varied, but most states recommended time parameters.…

This article analyzes national and state placement patterns for students with serious emotional disturbance between 1988 and 1991. Findings indicate that many states report substantial increases or decreases in percentage of children served in regular education classes, resource rooms, separate classes, or separate facilities. State demographic…

Ten years of data reflect little change in use of separate facilities for handicapped students, and high state-to-state variation. A subsequent paper argues that least restrictive environment as a concept has focused on "location" rather than "service." A final paper addresses the need to eliminate geographic and funding restrictions to…

This booklet describes administrative rules (revised in 1984) regarding the delivery of special education services in Michigan. Presented in a question answer format, the guide explains current rules regarding: the Individualized Educational Planning Committee Process; Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense; vocational evaluation;…

Current state guidelines for student-teacher ratios and/or caseloads in special education programs serving mildly handicapped students (including learning disabled, mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and speech impaired) were examined and compared with pupil-teacher ratios reported by the U.S. Department of Education. The study defined…