A growing body of research and legislative policies support the importance of high-quality early intervention systems for preschool children with disabilities. Inclusion programs are viable means for providing this support, yet limited progress has been made in the past decade to increase the placements of children in inclusive settings or define…

Evidence suggests preschool age students with disabilities (SWD) benefit from inclusive settings. Inclusive education has positive impacts on students' social-emotional, language, and cognitive skills. Yet, preschool age SWD continue to have limited access to inclusive education, and research suggests numerous reasons, including teacher practice.…

This study examined the perspectives of professionals and parents on part-time inclusive preschool Head Start programs that included both children with and without disabilities. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine parent and teacher perspectives of inclusion on the developmental outcomes of all children and (b) to investigate…

Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to identify the actions taken by public school districts to develop, implement, and maintain inclusive preschool programs. Further, this study compared the inclusive preschools' main components to the components identified by Buysse et al. (2001) and the components recommended by the Division of Early…

Research indicates that state pre-k programs with higher teacher qualification requirements improve children's school readiness so states get the most out of their investment in early education. This 2010 report, authored by Marisa Bueno, Linda Darling-Hammond and Danielle Gonzales, reviewed research on training for pre-k teachers and concluded…

The document lists California preschool agencies outside of the public school system which offer special education and/or related services to children 3-4.9 years old. The information was gathered through mail surveys and telephone verifications. Each entry (presented in an extensive appendix) provides information on the following aspect: county,…

A product of a study to gather information describing model infant and preschool programs for handicapped children, the document contains descriptions of 142 programs including validated First Chance projects, Outreach projects funded by the Bureau of Education for the Hnadicapped, Master Plan agencies in California, innovative and preschool…

A study to gather information describing model infant and preschool programs for handicapped children in California is reported. Information was received from 142 proqrams (102 in California) including validated First Chance projects, Outreach projects funded by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, Master Plan agencies in California,…

A study was conducted to develop baseline information on special education early intervention programs. A review of the literature revealed the following: the effects of a stimulating or depriving environment appear to be most powerful in the early years of childhood; there is evidence that the effects of early intervention programs for children…

California state law A.B. 2666 requires local educational agencies to provide special education to all children with exceptional needs between the ages of 3 and 5 years. The law aims to reduce the potential impact of handicapping conditions; produce substantial gains in physical development, cognitive development, language and speech development,…

This compilation cites the legal provisions of Part 30 of the California Education Code relative to special education programs; Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations relative to special education for children with disabilities; and other parts of the Education Code, Health and Safety Code, Government Code, and…

This document is comprised of the two issues in volume 4 of "Bridges," a publication produced by the California Head Start-State Collaboration Office to detail the activities of the educational partnership and to provide relevant information to programs participating in the partnership. The spring 1999 issue focuses on the service system…

The California Strategic Plan for Special Education sets specific goals and outcomes for the future in 11 critical areas: early intervention for infants and preschoolers, prevention, assessment, student outcomes and quality indicators, service delivery, education in the least restrictive environment, regionalization for students with low incidence…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that each state participating in the federal early intervention program establish a state interagency coordinating council (SICC) to assist and advise the state lead agencies in achieving a coordinated service delivery system. Some states have also established local interagency…

The J-50 Report, one of the most complicated entitlement reports that any state agency requires, provides information for funding and monitoring special education services and operations throughout California and for making special education funding allocations equitable. This manual was developed to assist local educational agency (LEA) and…