Eight guidelines for contract learning-type programs are presented under the headings (1) supplying rationales, (2) focusing on the faculty, (3) assessing faculty performance, (4) assessing student readiness, (5) assessing the costs, (6) students as researchers, (7) how much academic credit, and (8) agents of change. Focus is on the faculty as…

Issues that are central to special education and appear destined to remain so are discussed, including professional divisions among special educators and between special and regular educators, the population to be served, individualization, and placement. (JDD)

In 2008, Thailand passed legislation on the educational provisions for students with disabilities to mandate the implementation of inclusive education. This article provides a historical overview of special education in Thailand and the emergence of inclusive education as it moves from policy to practice. To further identify the challenges faced…

Described is a model for the evaluation of the Texas Comprehensive Special Education Program (Plan A) based on providing each child with an individualized educational plan and the least restrictive educational placement alternative. The plan is reported to have been implemented on a pilot basis over a 3-year period in the Dallas school district.…

The author reviews the background and application of the least restrictive environment requirement of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Components of the least restrictive environment (LRE) principle are reviewed, and a distinction is made between LRE and mainstreaming. Implementation issues, including misinterpretations…

The representative listing of inservice and classroom instructional materials reflects the increasing attention given to the implementation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, P.L. 94-142. Emphasis is placed upon existing commercial and noncommerical products whose objectives focus on the following: development of the individualized…

As an illustration of cases where existing programs and facilities do not meet individual special needs, the article traces the chronology of a behavior disordered male from special class placement in elementary school through his eventual incarceration in the Nebraska penal system. (JW)

Intended for parents of handicapped children, the handbook summarizes information regarding legal rights in the following areas: procedural safeguards (records, program planning, assessments), hearings, resource information, due process rights, local education agency resources, membership in the Maryland State Board of Education, state advisory…

Developed by the New York State Education Department at the University of the State of New York, the document presents preliminary study findings which recommend the removal of the current definition of "a handicapped child" and categorical labels such as "neurologically impaired". Modifications are suggested which strengthen…

The principal of a special school for physically and mentally handicapped students in Milwaukee reviews the history of services for handicapped persons as well as current approaches used in her school. Provisions for least restrictive environment are discussed, and the concept of appropriate and individual education programs is applied to…

This report has been provided to the Legislature on an annual basis since 2000 when the legislature amended the language of G.L. c. 71B to align Massachusetts special education terminology with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This year reports the context of a major change in the way state systems of special…

The APMI (Assessment, Placement, and Monitoring Index) is a non-categorical placement procedure designed to facilitate objective assessment, placement, and monitoring of exceptional children (ages 4 and up). The purpose of the APMI is to offer an "alternative" model for determining "severity" that (1) describes the needs of the…

The document contains Maryland's 1979 program plan for the education of handicapped children as mandated by P.L. 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act). Seventeen chapters address the following: public notice and opportunity for comment; right to education policy statement; full educational goal and timelines; policy on priorities;…

The author addresses the problems of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) which hinder efforts to provide programs for handicapped students. Considered are problems in child identification, student placement, mainstreaming, individualized education programs, in-service education, and attitudes of teachers and…

Academically talented high school students (n=239) evaluated a three-week individualized, flexibly paced precalculus summer course as more challenging than their ensuing school placement course. Results support the use of such courses, followed by appropriate placement, as a means of meeting the special academic needs of talented students. (DB)