The charter-schools movement provides the opportunity to observe whether granting schools freedom from most state regulations actually produces more freedom for school administrators and teachers, and whether this autonomy produces other distinctive outcomes. This report summarizes findings of Southwest Regional Laboratory's (SWRL's) statewide…

This report offers an executive summary and further analysis of a 1990 report that presented a comprehensive picture of service delivery for persons with developmental disabilities in Mississippi. The 1990 report, which was mandated by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1987, analyzed federally assisted…

This report compares and contrasts special education and least restrictive environment requirements for children with disabilities in Nigeria and the United States. The implementation of special education policies in both countries is discussed, including policies in the following areas: referral and identification, nondiscriminatory assessment,…

A survey of 419 Kentucky regular public schools was conducted to investigate how special education services are presently delivered to children with disabilities in the context of the statewide educational reform movement. The study examined: (1) how many regular public schools in Kentucky are practicing full inclusion; (2) how full inclusion and…

The increasing diversity of students in today's schools has led to much categorization and labeling and to a set of fragmented categorical programs. While in principle an inclusive school system should provide for the diverse needs of all students, in practice a disjointed and separatist system for special students continues to be the norm.…

This paper addresses the role of rural special education administrators when placing disabled students in regular classrooms. When dealing with inclusion, problems are intensified in rural areas because administrators, teachers, parents, and students come into contact with each other at the grocery store, church, and community events. Because…

This study examined the relationship between years of teaching experience and teacher specialty area in terms of formulation of vocational objectives in transition planning. Descriptive and inferential data were gathered from 43 secondary special education teachers concerning 393 student transition plans. Results indicated that teaching experience…

This module is the first of five integrated professional development modules for adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) personnel. This module is in the form of a 6-hour workshop, the purpose of which is to develop the participants' competence to conduct initial assessment, placement, and referral of ALBE students. An overview consists of these…

This final report describes strategies identified from interviews with educators in eight school districts in three states (Arkansas, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania) concerning the disproportionate number of students from racial/ethnic minority groups receiving special education services. The first section describes the methodology of the case study…

In fall 1994, New York City Technical College established the Developmental Education Task Force to review the current state of developmental education (DE) at the college and recommend policy and program changes. The Task Force gathered quantitative data from analyses of DE enrollment trends, student characteristics, and graduation rates, as well…

Since 1990, education reform efforts in Washington have encouraged the development of cooperative programs between the state's high schools and community and technical colleges. These programs allow advanced high school students to decrease the amount of time spent earning degrees and include the following efforts: Advanced Placement (AP) courses;…

This policy manual presents the state of Nebraska's regulations and standards for special education programs that are effective April 23, 1996. The regulations include a declaration of responsibility, provide the statutory authority, and address the following areas: (1) definitions of disabilities and other relevant terms; (2) responsibility for…

This policy brief reports on a study exploring state by state variation in placement rates for students with disabilities in either regular or special education settings and the relationship of economic, sociodemographic, and educational factors to these rates. The study analyzed data for the school year 1992-93 and compared the percent of…

This book discusses career planning strategies for students with special needs. It addresses the 13 competencies identified by the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) as basic to effective performance by career development practitioners: career development theory, decision-making skills, consultation skills,…

This report covers data on the number of minorities interested in teaching and the soundness of the "pipeline," the paths leading minorities into higher education, teacher education, and successful classroom placement. The data were analyzed according to 10 indicators, arranged in three groups. The first group surveyed progress up to the…