In "Wise," two sets of parents of children with disabilities made a unilateral placement decision at an out-of-state residential facility. The case presents unique issues: resident status of the child and allocation of costs for educational services. Examines the "Wise" decision and its implications for the child and for school…

Examines equity issues pertaining to special-education students, finance systems, and taxpayers. The major student equity focus is "inclusion." After passage of IDEA, reducing the number of restrictive special-education placements has become a clearly articulated policy objective. There is a movement away from cost-based to census-based…

This paper reviews (1) data documenting Saskatchewan's progress toward teaching disabled students in mainstream settings; (2) four studies showing the attitudes of preservice and regular classroom teachers toward integrating disabled students; and (3) correlates of special education placement in Saskatchewan. (Author/DB)

Although Jonathan Kozol is well-informed about choice program imperfections, schools of choice are superior to traditional schools. In places like East Harlem, school choice is helping transform youngsters from captive, disenfranchised malcontents to true students involved in their education. The challenge is to make every district school worthy…

The individualized education programs (IEPs) of 22 students with severe disabilities were analyzed during students' placement in special classes and general education classes. No difference was found in the curriculum content of the IEPs written for students attending a special versus a general education class; however, IEP objectives' quality was…

Examines the widely held assumption that a language interview is a structured conversational exchange. Specifically, the structural organization of 20 audio- and videotaped oral-skills course placement interviews were analyzed for features of conversation and interviews by using conversation analysis techniques. (40 references) (VWL)

This article examines questions about educational placements for children with hearing loss, including the equity of placement decisions and the impact of placement on academic achievement and social development. It is concluded that applying principles of placement in the least restrictive environment requires reexamination of existing…

This article examines the status of mainstreaming of students with hearing impairments, the growth of the Student Development movement, and the reality versus the vision of mainstreaming. Attention to the four "P's" of mainstreaming--people, place, purpose, and process--is urged in order to build a supportive mainstream program. (JDD)

This article identifies problems commonly attributed to acceleration for gifted students. Specific student concerns (such as friendships) and administrative concerns (such as difficulties in awarding course credits) are addressed. Five suggestions are made to help districts plan for providing accelerative options. (DB)

This article looks at decision factors in early admission or grade advancement for young gifted children. Specific criteria are offered for determining the appropriateness of both early admission and grade advancement. Special training for teachers and parents of gifted children is encouraged. (DB)

The mainstreaming concept has dramatically changed the lives of enumerable special needs children in positive ways but in some cases has become a travesty as it is extended beyond its logical limits. Developmental appropriateness is the pivotal priority in the education of children, especially those with severe/profound mental disabilities. (JDD)

This paper argues that New Zealand's policy to close special classes for students with mild intellectual disability represents a premature and unsound reduction in available educational options and that available resources are grossly insufficient to provide quality special educational services for all "children with educational and social…

Although current middle-level philosophy recommends a carefully planned transition between schools, many elementary school students continue to leave cohesive, self-contained classrooms for quasi-departmentalized middle schools with continuously changing class membership. A two-phase pilot study showed that (male) students in a constant-membership…

This paper addresses the disproportionate number of males in programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders--estimates of 3:1 and 6:1 are cited. It suggests that a combination of physiological differences between boys and girls and specific educational and environmental effects are plausible contributing factors. (DB)

Studies the interrelationships, correlations, and predictive powers of five different accepted reading assessment techniques commonly used to provide data to place students in ability groups. Finds that the combination of the cloze test, basal placement test, and standardized test proved to be the most effective in approximating the teacher's…