A major concept in special education is "people first language." It connotes that the person's name should precede the disability. For example, it is unacceptable to say "an autistic child." It is more acceptable to say "a child with autism." However, some authors in the field question the need for using a label at…

Almost 50 years ago, while President of CEC, Frances Connor delivered a presidential address entitled "The Sword and the Spirit." She called for five revolutions. The first revolution called for increasing the quantity and quality of special education teachers. The second stated that "special education depends upon an intensive…

Curriculum is an essential element in Individualized Education Program (IEP) development, which has often been left to special education teachers unequipped for the task. A lack of district-wide curriculum foundations leads to haphazard decision-making. Teachers have often relied on their own content biases, speculations, and standardized tests…

This paper explores the premise that children with mental and/or physical disabilities should be included in regular education programs whenever possible. Instructional strategies for successful inclusion are discussed and the need for parental and community involvement emphasized. The paper reviews the theory of inclusion; features of the…

Provision of adequate special education services within an individual rural school district is often not feasible, so cooperative arrangements seem a logical alternative. Cooperative arrangements vary on many dimensions including: number of school districts served, mode of governance, funding sources, staffing patterns, services rendered,…

A questionnaire was developed in order to discover the aspects of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975) that prove both most and least problematic for rural special education cooperatives. A cooperative was defined as any interdistrict administrative arrangement that provides specific services to member school…

This paper provides a synopsis of issues and recommendations regarding school reform, based on discussions held at the 1990 Forum on Emerging Trends in Special Education and Implications for Training Personnel. The paper calls for schools to adopt a collaborative model that infuses special education policies and practices into general education.…

Brick Township (New Jersey) High School hosts special education programs for both high-school-aged and 4-year-old students. Two classes are offered for the trainable mentally retarded, one for the educable mentally retarded, two for the neurologically impaired, and two for the emotionally disturbed and socially maladjusted. A departmentalized,…

The report cites research on educators' knowledge and understanding of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act), the ability of a typical school staff to implement P.L. 94-142, and elements restrictive to providing the instructional program. Noted among findings were the following: although a student provided with special…

A major problem in mainstreaming and implementation of Public Law 94-142 has been in establishing evaluation criteria to determine appropriate learning environment placement. Providing appropriate education in the least restrictive environment is primarily the classroom teacher's responsibility, requiring decision-making based on these questions:…

A survey was conducted to determine the effects of Public Law 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act) on collective bargaining at the local school district level. Educators affiliated with public schools, institutions of higher learning, and teacher organizations in seven states responded to a formal questionnaire. The results…

Discussed are findings of a task force on parent-teacher-child involvement in the education of handicapped children, and described is a prescriptive approach to parent programs that focuses on assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation. It is explained that a 4-day workshop centered on 10 modules, including parent-child dynamics,…

The author reviews the challenges of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, notes some of its problems, and describes the cooperative approach of Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and the Northwest Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center to overcome those problems. Among issues cited regarding implementing the law…

Regular class placement, or mainstreaming, of handicapped children is examined from three aspects, and a number of implications are noted for the clinical portion of preservice teacher preparation programs, with the observation that such programs are lagging behind educational practice in meeting the needs of handicapped children. Examined as…

The problems of teachers as they deal with the rapid changes brought about by Public Law 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act) and other legislation have largely been ignored. The teaching profession is considered one of the most potentially stressful occupations in the world (along with air traffic controllers and surgeons). While…