This document is a monograph in a personnel development series addressing issues that are pertinent for policy-making personnel concerned with program evaluation and personnel preparation. The major intent of the monograph is to present a variety of evaluation practices and procedures used in the evolution of a vocational/special education…

Mainstreaming is defined as the conscientious effort to place handicapped children into the least restrictive educational setting that is appropriate for their needs. The primary objective of this process is to provide these children with the most appropriate and effective educational experiences that will enable them to become self-reliant…

A detailed formative evaluation was conducted on a series of seven competency-based inservice modules designed for use by currently employed vocational and special educators. The topics of the module series focused on instructional development and on coordination of services and programming for special needs students in secondary programs. A…

This 2005 edition of the Section 619 Profile updates information on state policies, programs, and practices under the Preschool Grants Program (Section 619 of Part B) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It presents current and/or historical information for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, which are…

The 24th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is organized into four major sections. Section 1 is on context/environment and includes four modules that address special education teacher quality (from the Study of Personnel Needs in Teacher Education (SPeNSE)); costs of special…

The reauthorization of IDEA, which is now Public Law 108-446, was signed into law by President Bush on December 3, 2004. This article discusses background issues and some of the consequences of this new law for children with learning disabilities. For the first time in a reauthorization of IDEA, the rights of parents and students have been…

The experiences of the 3-year Minnesota Severely Handicapped Delivery System Project have led to a model which utilizes resources of regional systems as key elements of a differentiated system for educational service delivery to the handicapped in rural areas and involves state education agencies, statewide regional centers, local education units,…

Project PEP (Program Evaluation and Planning: Evaluating Current Programs and Identifying Handicapped Students and Their Vocational Needs for 1977-82) was designed to help handicapped students ages 14-21 make the transition from secondary to vocational, technical, and adult education school (VTAE) in Wisconsin. Information was gathered to identify…

Prepared for teachers of mentally handicapped students, this teacher's guide accompanies the student booklet, "How to Get A Job," and contains suggestions for learning activities and vocabulary development for each subdivision of all four major units in the student booklet: choosing the right kind of work, looking for the job, going on an…

The five-volume directory describes more than 1,200 discretionary grants and contracts supported by the Research to Practice Division of the Office of Special Education Programs. The projects are grouped into sections representing the seven program areas of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments (1997), Part D. This…

The provision of school services for severely mentally retarded children presents a problem of considerable importance in many States and local communities. In general the problem involves children whose extreme retardation prevents them from benefiting from the existing special classes for retarded pupils and who range downward in competence for…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school, including…

This report summarizes a strategy evaluation study of the Personnel Preparation Program (a division in the federal Office of Special Education Programs). The Personnel Preparation Program is intended to increase the numbers of qualified special educators through grants to institutions of higher education and state education agencies. This study…

The paper summarizes the first year (1983-84) of a 3-year rural education project entailing collaboration between the College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) and rural chief school officers (CSOs) to improve service to handicapped students. Project objectives are listed: to improve education of mainstreamed handicapped students by helping CSOs…

A 3-year cooperative program between the College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) and surrounding rural school districts has two main goals: to help rural Chief School Officers (CSOs) design staff development activities to meet educational needs of mainstreamed handicapped students and to improve the college's preservice teacher education program…