California state law A.B. 2666 requires local educational agencies to provide special education to all children with exceptional needs between the ages of 3 and 5 years. The law aims to reduce the potential impact of handicapping conditions; produce substantial gains in physical development, cognitive development, language and speech development,…

This article reports the experiences of one school district as it moved from serving students with severe disabilities in segregated programs to a full inclusion model. Year one focused on getting started, planning, and beginning integration efforts and year two on implementation of a structured peer integration program. Applicability of the full…

Children First, which is Nottinghamshire, England's policy to increase mainstreaming of children with special educational needs, has been implemented by planning for cooperative rather than competitive change and providing resources for change. The policy has helped maintain the profile of these children at a time when they were at risk of being…

A survey of 224 early childhood special education public school programs in Massachusetts obtained information on program implementation, child characteristics, program settings, service characteristics, teacher characteristics, family involvement, and funding/administration. Results revealed important variations among school districts in…

This qualitative policy study of 6 states and 12 school districts identified 6 factors that influenced implementation of least restrictive environment provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Factors included financing, the state-local context, organization, advocacy, implementors, and knowledge and values. The study…

This issue of "Peabody Journal of Education" is devoted to a study of one metropolitan school district's attempts to implement Public Law 94-142 beyond satisfying the law's requirements to real changes in services. Chapters cover: (1) background, enactment, and implementation of the law; (2) the school system; (3) elementary schools; (4)…

Services of two school districts to exceptional students in transition are reviewed. The Great Falls (Montana) model involves a five-year individualized education program, maximum integration, and three phases of paid employment. The Natrona County (Wyoming) program is based on such crucial services as vocational evaluation, community living…

This paper reports on the concerns of rural school superintendents in Texas regarding the inclusion of special needs students in regular classrooms. The Change Facilitator Stages of Concerns Questionnaire (CFSoCQ) and a demographic data sheet were completed by 484 of the 708 rural superintendents in Texas. The CFSoCQ consists of 35 items…

This paper reports on a multiple case study of building administrators in a suburban school district in Oklahoma which implemented a unitary system of inclusion of students with disabilities in age-appropriate regular classrooms. The study focused particularly on how administrators developed shared meanings during the change process. Data were…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a study that examined local response to the implementation of the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision for preschool children with disabilities within two counties in New York State during the 1994-97 school years. Open-ended interviews were conducted with four groups in each county: Committee on…

The study examines the implementation of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, in one metropolitan school system. The first section details the judicial and legislative background, enactment, and politics of implementation of the law. Chapter 2 reviews theories and research about the conditions for educational change, and…

The concerns of Kansas educators about the implementation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) mandate are examined in this research report. Five different samples of public school educators, totaling 7,000 persons, were randomly selected and stratified according to district size. Each sample was sent either the Stages…

This bulletin details the findings of a 1995 study involving 891 school districts in all 50 states that examined key factors of inclusive education practices. Findings indicate: (1) there is no single or even general pattern of initiation of inclusive education programs in local school districts; (2) as states and school districts engage in broad…

This report summarizes findings of a study to identify key factors of inclusive education practices, as identified by school districts implementing such practices. The study involved contacting chief state education officers for state-level information and identification of local school districts conducting inclusive education programs and then…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the operation of the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) in response to the implementation of the least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate for preschool children with disabilities within two selected counties in New York State during the 1994-95, 1995-96, and 1996-97…