ERIC Number: ED392187
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1995-Oct
Pages: 143
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Focus on Learning: A Report on Reorganizing General and Special Education in New York City.
Fruchter, Norm; And Others
This report is the result of a year-long evaluation of special education in New York City (New York) and presents major recommendations for reorganizing general and special education. It proposes a school-based model with an integrated general/special education system, and use of an enrichment allocation from merged special and general education funds to meet the needs of students with disabilities and students at risk of academic failure. It recommends creation of Instructional Support Teams within schools, formal evaluations of students by a district-level multidisciplinary Committee on Special Education, significant investment in school-based professional development, creation of an independent Accountability and Quality Assurance Office, changes in state funding mechanisms to encourage the placement of students in neighborhood schools, and restoration of funding to general education. The report begins with an executive summary and an introduction. The following six chapters address: (1) why the current system doesn't work; (2) guiding assumptions of the study; (3) major features of the school-based model; (4) implications for high schools; (5)implications for District 75/citywide programs; and (6) implications for preschools. A concluding chapter presents the study's 14 specific recommendations and suggestions for phased-in implementation. Appendices provide: public reaction to the first draft of this report; a legal analysis of the proposed changes by Perry A. Zirkel; and a review of financing dimensions of the proposed changes by Thomas B. Parrish. Contains 15 references. (DB)
Descriptors: Accountability, Change Strategies, Disabilities, Educational Change, Educational Diagnosis, Educational Finance, Educational Policy, Elementary Secondary Education, High Risk Students, High Schools, Inclusive Schools, Legal Responsibility, Models, Preschool Education, Regular and Special Education Relationship, School Based Management, School Districts, School Restructuring, Special Education, State Aid, State School District Relationship, Student Evaluation, Student Placement, Teamwork, Urban Education
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: Grant (W.T.) Foundation, New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: New York Univ., NY. Inst. for Education and Social Policy.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A