This introductory article considers the impact of homework requirements on students with learning disabilities in light of increased mainstreaming of these students and rising academic demands. Noted are three recent projects examining the impact of school reform on students with disabilities and their families. (DB)

This article argues that the Regular Education Initiative (REI) puts both special needs students and their teachers at risk. Effects of REI are examined in light of a Self-Esteem Index which explains factors integral to a sense of success by both teachers and students. Support activities, preservice and inservice education are strongly urged. (DB)

For nearly 20 years, a Delaware school district has been building and evaluating an inclusive classroom model, Team Approach to Mastery. Resource rooms were gradually eliminated, and disabled students were educated alongside their nondisabled classmates. Mainstreaming strategies included team teaching, learning centers, ego groups (to develop…

Classroom modifications used successfully by teachers of mainstreamed students with handicaps are described. General guidelines for dealing with daily assignments and activities are outlined, followed by specific guidelines concerning worksheets, textbook/end of chapter questions, study guides, notetaking, tests, and grading. (JDD)

Solutions to educating special needs students are not found in exclusionary programs or curriculum categorizations but in the inclusion of all students and in providing the necessary support for them and their teachers. Meanwhile, special education "turf" issues must be resolved, and public apprehensions about mainstreaming as a cost-cutting…

Investigated prevalence of social maladjustment among students in two rural/suburban school systems. Results from 249 elementary and secondary school teachers indicated that the percentage of students reported as exhibiting characteristics of social maladjustment was sufficiently high to indicate that services beyond special education may be…

According to Hornbeck, too little attention is paid to disabled youngsters in the nation's school restructuring discussions. To improve education for all children, "schools of distinction" must be created that shun standardized testing and rigid procedural requirements. Adequate staff development, increased funding, and teacher support…

Investigates the concept of educational inclusion, which refers to the integration of handicapped students into regular classrooms. Considers the issues broached by inclusion for classroom teachers. Presents concerns of the teachers regarding a number of issues. (HB)

Article identifies problems of itinerant teachers of deaf students in rural Oregon and reports on a survey of 98 teachers of the deaf in Oregon. The study found 66 percent of teachers were working in itinerant positions, that 77 percent had not received any training for the itinerant role, and that 71 percent have some doubts about their…

An annotated outline provides recent case law in special education since the last update in volume 56 of this journal. Based on the 1990 amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), references are in the form of the acronym for its new title, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (MLF)

This article offers seven guidelines for best practices in integrating youngsters who are blind or visually impaired with their age-appropriate peers. Guidelines are based on the literature on early childhood special education and education of children with visual impairments. (Author/DB)

Medically fragile children do not always require special education services. However, teachers need specialized training before they can teach kids accompanied by life support equipment. Boston's Project School Care advises administrators to consider four sets of procedures: administrative guidelines, plans for providing health care services and…

Movement for full inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms asks educators to take landmark 1975 Education of the Handicapped (recently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) a step farther. All five of the 1993-94 inclusion-related legal cases favored general education environments--even for severely…

An exemplary program at Lake Washington Technical College in Kirkland is attractive to students with certain disabilities because of its lower eligibility requirements, hands-on learning, and self-paced instruction. The program prepares students to enter the electronics market as entry-level assemblers. (JOW)

Discusses the three major developments in the revised Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): general-education teachers participating in individualized education programs, school flexibility in disciplining special-needs students, and emphasis on integrating special-education students into general education. (JOW)