Even though paid advocates exist in the field of special education, teacher advocates are important because their work is based on passion and a belief that change is warranted due to their own needs and experiences with students, not merely on the basis that they are being paid to advocate. Education policy in recent years has become more…

Despite encouraging changes in the expectations of programming for persons with moderate to severe intellectual disability (MSD), data suggest that programs for these individuals are still lacking in several critical areas. Building administrators play a key role in promoting high quality programs for students with MSD within local schools but may…

Special education's progress was shaped by establishment of the Cuyahoga County Ohio Council for the Retarded Child (1933); the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975), "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954); "Sacramento City Unified School District v. Rachel H." (1994); coinage of "learning disabilities"…

Traces the direction which the mainstreaming movement has taken to date, analyzes models for organizing schools to best meet the needs of all children, discusses ways for facilitating appropriate changes, and describes the interrelationship between the mainstreaming movement and the desegregation and multicultural education movements. (Author/GC)

Recognizing the changing role of parents of handicapped children in the educational planning process, the advocacy roles and responsibilities for parent involvement are identified and discussed in light of their implications for school psychologists. Materials available to assist in the training of parents are presented. (Author/RL)

Public Laws 94-142 and 99-457 mandate the provision of surrogate parents to represent parentless disabled children in acquiring educational services. Described are the rights and responsibilities of surrogate parents, their role in case conferences and in development of individualized education programs, and the activities of the Indiana Surrogate…

Recognizing the need for a new approach to the problem of federal/state jurisdictional overlaps in delivery of services to Indians, the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped contracted with the National Association of State Boards of Education and Indian Education Training, Inc. to conduct a series of national and regional conferences which…