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This study investigated the knowledge of special education directors or division designees in school divisions across the Commonwealth of Virginia. One-hundred-twenty-nine Virginia special education directors or division designees were sent an on-line assessment describing 22 hypothetical scenarios representing current legal issues in the area of special education law as prescribed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The instrument used in this study was adapted from the Power (2007) study with a revision of response choices to provide more definitive results. A demographic questionnaire was adapted to determine individual and school division characteristics pertinent to the study. A total of 87 division special education administrators responded, a 67% response rate. After initial analysis, 84 assessments were usable. The statistical package JMP-Software for Univariate and Multivariate Statistics (2005) was used to tabulate the responses and to examine the relationships between demographic variables and respondents' knowledge of special education law. Descriptive statistics were applied to identify deficiencies in the respondents' knowledge base. Results of this study yielded a mean total score of 80.3% on the online assessment. Respondents scored below the mean in the areas of free and appropriate education, related services, student discipline, and liability for reimbursement to parents. There was no statistically significant relationship between knowledge of special education law and any of the following demographic characteristics: size of the school division, previous special education teacher experience, number of years as a special education director, highest degree attained, percent of time devoted to special education responsibilities, and attendance at special education law workshops. Respondents who belonged to professional organizations scored significantly higher on the assessment than those who did not. The assessment also compared methods of remaining current with special education law and the respondents' knowledge of the law. The following methods yielded a statistically significant relationship with knowledge of special education law: reading professional organization bulletins, attending professional development seminars, and using "other" means. The results of this study will be used to recommend professional development on the interpretation and implementation of special education law at the school-division and college/university levels. / Ph. D.

In the 27 years since the establishment of federal law mandating special education, no state has been fully in compliance. In addition, the voices of school personnel (special education teachers, speech and language pathologists, and school psychologists) charged with implementing these laws and regulations have been largely silent in the national research. A review of 1306 references concerning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) did not find studies that included these front line school district personnel who serve as "intermediaries" and have responsibility to implement special education policy. This is the first study that provided a forum for Oregon professionals to share their concerns and suggestions regarding implementation of the IDEA. The study went beyond the enumeration of noncompliance areas, asked questions about why compliance is problematic, and compared what study participants view as problematic to litigated areas at the Oregon complaint investigation and due process hearing levels. Multiple methods in the data collection process included surveys (n=169), semi-structured interviews (n=11), and document analysis (n=147). To provide baseline information, quantitative analysis provided ordinal ranking of responses and statistical comparisons among participants from the different specialty areas, different years of experience, and different district sizes. It also compared participant responses to Oregon litigation. Part of the study used an exploratory and descriptive approach to obtain accurate and thick description of participant experiences. Participants' rankings differed significantly from identified areas in the literature and alleged violations brought in due process hearings and complaint investigations. Participants ranked least restrictive environment and evaluation concerns highest while the literature and reviewed litigation identified the individualized education program as most problematic. Differences existed among participants based on district size and their disciplines. No differences were found based on experience. A thorough review of policy and funding are indicated. Implications for practice include increased focus on the emphasis of training programs and technical support. Increasing placement options, consistency of information, streamlining of the individualized education program, and assistance in the evaluation and eligibility process are also needed. Because the study included participants from Oregon, generalizability is limited to the state. / Graduation date: 2003

The purpose of this study was to review historical legislation relevant to the education of individuals with disabilities, examine the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act and related case law, and to create a knowledge base from which school-based professionals can make legally sound policy and planning decisions and reduce liability for noncompliance with the applicable laws and regulations pertaining to the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In addition, the study provided insight into the law and increased the comfort levels of school-based personnel who deal with exceptional students, thereby increasing the likelihood of success of exceptional students being served by these professionals in traditional settings. The study sought to: (a) determine the duties and responsibi~ities of school-based administrators arising from 1997 Amendments to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; (b) establish how recent federal legislation and regulations have changed the duties and responsibilities of school districts regarding students identified under the 1997 Amendments to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; identify the potential liabilities and remedies fer educational insti~utions for violation of 1997 Amendments to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and presented recommendations for changes in policies which will contribute to an educational institution's ability to successfully meet ~he needs of disabled students as required under the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T20:31:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Adnilson Jose da Silva.pdf: 894346 bytes, checksum: d4a6491926d63b1f40ad80a81843b652 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-03-07 / This essay studies professional secondary during the decades within 1970 and 1980. In the first chapter it focuses the conceptual bases from the work and education categories, studies the polytechnic and unitary school, taking as bases the thoughts of Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci, and it also deals with the alienation and the bourgeois school unification concepts based on studies conducted by Brazilian authors.The second chapter deals with the transformations occurred at the world of work and its influence on the school organization. It is eminent the capitalist onjuncture where there is a dependence of the external capital at the “Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional” (National law which rules the Education) number 5.692/71, characterized by the liberal techniques orientation and responsible for the legal strategy of prevention of the polytechnics at the professional courses. The third chapter deals with the configuration of the professional courses on the capitalist ideology. The pedagogical support of liberal orientation, the possibilities of cultural formation of the pupils during the decade are studied in this part of the essay. It is concluded that, where the importance of the existence of studies about the possibilities of a critical formation in that educational context, the official orientation of the Brazilian professional education concurred to keep the workers in the function of producers and consumers of merchandises, without thoughts and attitudes of plea in the presence of the context where they were inserted. / Nesta dissertação se estuda o ensino secundário profissionalizante nas décadas de 1970 e 1980. No Primeiro Capítulo se enfoca as bases conceituais a partir das categorias trabalho e educação, com estudo da politecnia e da escola unitária, a partir, respectivamente, do pensamento de Karl Marx e de Antonio Gramsci, e ainda, os conceitos de alienação e de unificação escolar burguesa com base em estudos feitos por autores brasileiros. No Segundo Capítulo se trata das transformações no mundo do trabalho e sua influência na organização escolar. Tem destaque a conjuntura capitalista em que se dá a dependência do capital externo e em que se situa a Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional número 5.692/71, caracterizada pela orientação liberal tecnicista e responsável pela estratégia legal de prevenção da politecnia nos cursos profissionalizantes. O Terceiro Capítulo trata das configurações dos cursos profissionalizantes segundo a ideologia capitalista: são estudados o suporte pedagógico de orientação liberal e as possibilidades de formação cultural dos alunos. Conclui-se que, em que pese a existência de estudos sobre possibilidades de formação crítica naquele contexto educacional, a orientação oficial da educação profissionalizante brasileira concorria para manter os trabalhadores na dupla função de produtores e de consumidores de mercadorias, sem pensamento e atitude de contestação frente ao contexto em que estavam inseridos.

Following the mass shooting at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, institutions of higher education appeared to restructure themselves and change the way that they worked with students who may pose a risk to self or others. They formed committees, sometimes known as Communities of Concern, to help review these concerns and respond appropriately. The purpose of this study was to examine how the Community of Concern Committee at the University of Kentucky was developed following the incident at Virginia Tech. Particular attention was focused on the change and learning that took place. Using the frames of single-loop and double-loop learning, this study examined six oral history accounts of the development of the Community of Concern Committee at the University of Kentucky. The oral histories coupled with historical documents provided a timeline of events related to the development of the committee. In addition, the oral histories revealed a complex learning process which blended single and double-loop learning to guide this institutional change. The comparison between this incident and other legal issues within higher education was explored as well as the opportunity to expand this exploration outside of the current case study.

This study investigated postsecondary disability service providers' (DSP) perceived usefulness of an example of a well-developed SOP. This example SOP was included in a 22 question survey, administered electronically to DSPs who are members of the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). The participants (n=298) were asked to rate the usefulness of the test scores, rationale for accommodation, history of use or success of accommodation, report writer's recommendations, and student input included in the example SOP for making accommodation decisions. ANOVAs were used to determine if the perceived usefulness of the parts of the Model SOP varied as a function of the DSPs' highest degree, disciplines or fields of study, training for the interpretation of disability documentation, and/or years of experience in postsecondary disability services. DSPs with less than five years of experience (M=1.85, SD = .87) found the report writer's recommendations more useful than DSPs with greater than 10 years of experience (M=2.24, SD = 1.02). DSPs with 5-10 years of experience did not differ significantly from either of the other groups. Additionally, statistical significance was approached (p = .085) suggesting that DSPs with doctorate degrees compared to DSPs with a master's degree or a bachelor's degree may find the history of use or success less useful for accommodation decisions. Overall, the average usefulness ratings for all DSP groupings for the identified parts of the SOP were in the extremely useful or very useful range. / School of Education; / School Psychology / PhD; / Dissertation;

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The role of brain dominance in the maintenance of learner discipline Recent research in especially Education Law has shown that maintaining discipline in South African schools constitutes a problem for many educators. Research over the last few decades has also indicated a strong link between brain dominance and behaviour. The aim of this research was to establish to what extent the brain dominance of learners and educators influence their attitude towards and perceptions of the implementation of schools' codes of conduct and their resulting behaviour in class. Educators' response to indiscipline was studied against the backdrop of the Constitution, and more specifically the Bill of Rights, as well as other legislation pertaining to learner discipline. The findings revealed a strong link between brain dominance and the behaviour and attitudes of learners and. educators regarding school discipline. It is therefore suggested that the code of conduct should be developed with input from learners and educators from all four quadrants of the brain. Where possible, a measure of flexibility should be included in these documents in the form of incentives for good behaviour and by using discretion when implementing the code of conduct. The insight of educators and learners into the implications of brain dominance was also found to be crucial. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.