This paper examines the contradiction between articulated university policy on diversity/inclusion and actual practice with regard to field placements for teacher candidates with disabilities. Analysis of a unique case study involving a teacher candidate with traumatic brain injury illustrates the inequities of the traditional concern conference…

An inservice training program designed to enhance the ability of both regular and special educators to successfully function as placement team members is described. The program features introductory needs assessment, focus of initial activities on leadership personnel, an emphasis on collaboration in decisionmaking and sharing, demonstration of…

Four groups (40 school psychology graduates and practitioners and 40 special education trainees and practitioners) rated 11 multidisciplinary child study team (MT) professions according to influence on child placement and desirability to chair the MT meeting. MT professions were found to exert disproportionate influence on placement decisions. (CL)

The paper states the need for providing services to handicapped youthful offenders. Obstacles to compliance with P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, for this population are noted, including lack of staff and funding. Research is cited to show the extent of the problem and project the effects of inadequate programing. The…

Naturalistic observation procedures were employed to study the assessment and decision making events that occurred in the cases of seven students from the time of referral for special education assessment to the time when an educational program was implemented or a decision made not to provide service. Details are presented of the sequence,…

Intended for local school district personnel, the document suggests a model for assisting decision makers in placing handicapped students in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Basic considerations of a multidisciplinary team in determining the appropriate placement for the handicapped students are listed (including the nature and degree of…

This paper is the fourth of a series of working papers developed by a project which conducted a cooperative study of existing student study team (SST) processes in nine California special education local plan areas. The working papers augment the final report by providing detailed descriptions of the methods used and the preliminary findings. This…

This presentation introduces the methods of negotiation and mediation in transdisciplinary decision-making, and applies the methods specifically to the educational needs and placements of students with disabilities. Four stages of mediation are described: problem identification, generation of problem-solving options, evaluation of options, and…

The paper is the third of a series of working papers developed by a project which conducted a cooperative study of existing student study team (SST) processes in nine California special education local plan areas. The working papers augment the final report by providing detailed descriptions of the methods used and the preliminary findings. This…

The goal of this project was to increase regular teacher attendance and active participation during multidisciplinary team (MDT) conferences held to ensure appropriate decisions regarding eligibility, placement, and programming of special needs students. The school psychologist, as a member of the team in the target school in Dade County, Florida,…

Compared the restrictiveness of special education placements by profession (administrators, school psychologists, and special education teachers) and by type of handicapping condition. Professionals (N=66) assigned placement scores on the basis of three psychological reports. Results indicated that the average placement scores did not differ…

The paper reviews trends in the integration of young disabled children and proposes replacement of the traditional concept of least restrictive environment as a continuum of placement with a concept of integration opportunities determined by individual child needs, family needs, and community resources. The need for integrated service delivery…

To overcome factors inhibiting effective decision making by child study teams, a rationale is established for the development of pandisciplinary tools to assist in interpersonal communication, group decision making, and assessment. Specific examples of such tools are presented, and their relationships to current practices are discussed.…

The volume presents agendas of two inservice training workshops for school personnel on student assessment and two seminars for psychologists, held in the summers of 1981 and 1982, on the topic of placement and Individualized Education Program (IEP) development for handicapped Native American children. This document was prepared to accompany a…

The paper reports on a court case in which the public school system was sighted in violation of the decree in Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia and which resulted in the development of the Child Study Center which provides assessments, identification, and placement of handicapped students by an interdisciplinary team. Among…