States are increasingly using value-added approaches to evaluate teacher effectiveness. There is much debate regarding whether these methods should be employed and, if employed, what role such methods should play in comprehensive teacher evaluation systems. In this article, we consider the use of value-added modeling (VAM) to evaluate special…

During the past decade, responsiveness to intervention (RTI) has become popular among many practitioners as a means of transforming schooling into a multilevel prevention system. Popularity aside, its successful implementation requires ambitious intent, a comprehensive structure, and coordinated service delivery. An effective RTI also depends on…

The field of early childhood intervention for infants and young children with disabilities or delays has a rich history that spans many disciplines of practice. Both legislation and research has provided a foundation for how services are delivered to this population, and there are several recommended practices that govern service delivery to this…

The author summarizes developments affecting current efforts in developing collaborative service systems for the handicapped; identifies basic processes essential to current efforts; summarizes interorganizational models relevant to interagency planning; provides an illustrative planning model; suggests basic problems associated with interagency…

The article addresses implementing a prereferral intervention model as the first step in special education services delivery system. The model includes four prereferral stages (request for consultation, consultation, observation, conference), and two referral stages (formal referral and program meeting). (Author/CL)

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)

Limitations of the current division of the general and special education service delivery systems are identifid with focus on disabling attitudes of general and special educators. Stressed is the need for a unified educational system which meets the special needs of all students. (DB)

Survey responses of 389 elementary secondary teachers to emotionally disabled students were analyzed in terms of types of students served, amount of integration, and teachers' use of time. Results suggested that the levels of the Cascade of Services Model (which depicts levels of service) are not distinct entities. (CL)

The Education Commission of the States' Interstate Migrant Education Project hosted a seminar in Phoenix in 1980. Participants identified eight information needs (including a need for accurate counts of eligible migrant children) and four major problems (such as access to and availability of services, and continuity of services). (CL)

An information base on interagency collaboration which can be used to direct the development of training strategies for persons involved in the design or operation of interagency endeavors is described with particular reference to P.L. 941-42, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. (Author/SB)

The article provides a guide for using cooperative agreements to increase the utilization of community resources for serving handicapped persons. Procedures for designing, implementing, and measuring the cost and benefits of cooperative programs are included. (Author)

Analysis of data from 270 families participating in Michigan's "Early On" (Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) program suggests two paths for empowering families: (1) implementation of program components via a family-centered framework or (2) family-centered delivery to build a family support network. (Author/DB)

The triadic model of consultation service delivery for students with ties is expanded to include a problem-solving approach including 11 variables within 3 domains: (1) the people involved, (2) their interactional process, and (3) the implementation of specific procedures. The professional literature is reviewed within each domain. (Author/DB)

A survey of state in-service training plans identified priorities in in-service training topics (including instructional and behavioral management of the handicapped child and implementation of the individualized education program); instructional personnel to be trained; differential patterns of delivering training; and such additional needs as…

The role of Jose P. v. Ambach, a class action lawsuit involving the rights of handicapped students to be referred, evaluated, and placed in a timely fashion into appropriate educational programs and services in the New York City public schools, in structuring the delivery of special education services is discussed. (Author/CL)