Despite the fact that China has a deep-rooted history of sympathetic attitudes toward individuals with disabilities, and has begun to serve individuals with disabilities in their public schools, Special Education in China today is much like it was in the United States prior to the implementation of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of…

Provision of adequate special education services within an individual rural school district is often not feasible, so cooperative arrangements seem a logical alternative. Cooperative arrangements vary on many dimensions including: number of school districts served, mode of governance, funding sources, staffing patterns, services rendered,…

The background of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, is reviewed, its contents analyzed, and major problems identified. Areas of controversy addressed include provision of such related services as psychotherapy, school health services, summer programs, and vocational education. Expense and ambiguity of the law are among…

To investigate the impact of P.L. 94-142 (The Education for All Handicapped Children Act) on urban and rural local education agencies, surveys were completed by 17 urban and 19 rural administrators in Missouri. The open-ended instrument included five topics: level of P.L. 94-142 impact on the school district; type of impact; problems confronting…

Providing adequate educational services for handicapped children in rural America is a continuing challenge. To deal with this problem, research and development efforts need to be intensified. (JOW)

Data collected from 19 state education agencies through questionnaires and interviews focused on special problems and approaches in rural areas for complying with four major aspects of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act: individualized education programs (IEPs), least restrictive environment (LRE), procedural safeguards,…

The quality of life for individuals with disabilities depends on access to quality services and employment opportunities. It is also important that the disabled be accepted as participating, contributing, and cherished members of the community. Distance and isolation, which typify rural areas, directly impact each of these issues. Individuals with…

Questionnaires were mailed to 80 administrative units in the western United States, of which 85% responded, to examine administrative arrangements for administering special education programs in rural areas and to determine whether a relationship existed between administrative arrangement, cooperative size, and compliance with the mandates of P.L.…

Within the literature on special education administration in rural areas three topics emerge: difficulties associated with bringing special education programs to rural areas; need for research pertaining to special education in rural areas; and a concern with cooperative arrangements as a means of providing special education programs in rural…

A major goal of the National Rural Project's (NRP) Management Information System (MIS) is to aid the parents and educators of rural handicapped students in delivering quality educational services and fully implementing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, PL 94-142. MIS tailors reports to the specific needs of three target audiences…

The guide is intended to help parents of young children with special needs identify early intervention services (for children birth through age 2) and special education services (for children ages 3 through 5). Part 1 answers typical questions of parents of infants including: What should I do if I think my child has special needs? What are early…

This guidebook is intended to provide resource information needed to develop comprehensive vocational education for handicapped students in rural areas as well as to synthesize suggestions from successful experiences in special vocational education programs currently in existence. The guidebook provides information on the following laws and…

A review of the existing literature on preparation of rural teaching personnel focuses on the problems of education and specifically, special education, in rural areas and reports various solutions to those problems. Characteristics of many rural areas (such as high non-enrollment rates, rising service costs, resistance to outside interference,…

Rural school districts face nearly insurmountable obstacles to implementing the comprehensive special education programs mandated by PL 94-142, Education for All Handicapped Children Act. In order to identify workable strategies for rural special education delivery, a survey was conducted among state and local education agencies in 19 states…