Educators today are challenged with the task of designing curricula and standards for students of varying abilities. While technology and innovation steadily improve classroom learning, teachers and administrators continue to struggle in developing the best methodologies and practices for students with disabilities. "Models for Effective…

The article examines service provisions for preschool-aged handicapped students in terms of two legal issues: what constitutes an appropriate program in terms of the intensity/frequency of program length; and how the least restrictive environment provision should be applied to this population. (Author/DB)

The paper analyzes the legal, fiscal, and organizational differences and similarities in special educational services in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Noted are the decreased role of the courts in Australia and New Zealand and provision of all education funding by the state in Australia and New Zealand. (DB)

The manual suggests steps, procedures, best practices, and key concepts to create and maintain successful interagency collaboration in the delivery of services to preschool handicapped children. Considered are the concept of collaboration, the rationale for its development, and a means of assessing a community to determine the needs and potential…

The paper examines barriers faced by educators and administrators in serving young handicapped children in rural areas and suggests approaches to overcoming these barriers. Among problems identified are transportation; funding shortages due to a lower tax base and higher levels of poverty; unemployment, and seasonal employment; staff shortages;…

The responsibilities and duties of administrators in special education are examined, particularly with regard to mainstreaming. Knowledge of disabilities, educational trends, and specific agencies and community services is necessary as well as an understanding of the legal requirements of P.L. 94-142 (The Education for All Handicapped Children…

This discussion reviews the literature regarding consultation as a form of indirect service delivery in early intervention for children with disabilities, identifies barriers to effective consultation practice, and concludes that consultation can allow children with disabilities to receive intervention services in integrated settings if…

This booklet focuses on the role of interagency agreements in facilitating the transition of young children and their families from early intervention services to preschool services as children turn 3 years of age. Interagency agreements can be viewed as an "invisible brace" supporting families and staff as they consider many issues in moving from…

The manual is intended to encourage vocational rehabilitation decision makers to expand application of technical assistance (TA) to enhance Westbrook provides guidelines on planning TA, setting goals, selecting participants, developing the TA plan, determining measurable outcomes, involving the community, providing for information exchange,…

The paper presents an alternative service delivery model for special education. Problems with the current delivery model include tests, labeling, overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities, and lack of generalization from the resource setting to the regular classroom. The alternative model would allow more students to be served without…

The manual is intended to encourage Head Start program and school district collaboration in providing an integrated system of services and support for the preschool handicapped child. The introduction identifies specific benefits of collaboration followed by a list of definitions of common terms used by the Head Start programs and school…

This paper discusses the importance of interagency coordination in developing services for young children with handicaps and their families. It suggests strategies to improve the functioning of interagency coordinating councils by considering council membership, role definition, goal commitment, vision of the early intervention system, and use of…

This information packet is designed to assist local interagency councils to implement Public Law 99-457's requirements concerning the provision of high quality services to preschool children with disabilities and their families. The model described provides a framework for continual coordination of agency programs as well as use of collaboration…

The paper describes Project STIP (Supported Transition to Integrated Preschools), a demonstration project in San Francisco, California, which is developing and evaluating a model for integrating preschool children with special needs into regular education preschool programs. Project STIP also developed and evaluated a district-wide model for…

The first part of the handbook describes the Special Education Supervisors Training Project (SESTP) designed to train 15 special education supervisors each year through a systems approach emphasizing coordination of regular and special education practices and procedures. Specific requirements for Illinois supervisory endorsement in special…