The purpose of this study was threefold: to assess the knowledge of school board members pertaining to PL 94-142 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 93-112), to investigate the attitude of local school board members regarding handicapped children and to ascertain the source and methodology from which school board members receive their information regarding PL 94-142 and Section 504. Mailed survey forms were sent to local school board members selected from the subscribers list of the American School Board Journal. The survey forms consisted of a demographic section, an author-made knowledge index, an author-made attitude scale and information sources identification section. The size of the school district which a member represents made a significant difference in both knowledge and attitude scores. No significant relationship was found between knowledge or attitude with geographic area or type of district. Significant differences were found between knowledge and reading about education of the handicapped. Attitude scores reflecting favorable attitudes toward education of the handicapped increased with the experience of due process hearings in the school district. Seventy-two percent of the respondents correctly answered ten or more of the twenty knowledge questions correctly. The mean for knowledge was 10.86. The mean score for attitude toward the education of the handicapped was 62.66 from a possible score of 100 which would be the most positive attitude toward a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The author concludes that school board members are knowledgeable about the education of handicapped children under the regulations for the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. The attitude of school board members toward the education of handicapped children is neither highly positive nor is it notably negative. The size of the school district the board members represents affected both attitude and knowledge scores. School board members from very small and very large school districts scored lower on the knowledge portion of the survey than those from medium-sized districts. Board members from small school districts had a more negative attitude about education of handicapped children than those from larger districts. The survey of knowledge and attitude of board members on PL 94-142 and Section 504 and the education of the handicapped has serious implications for the need of continuation of federal and state support of the rights of handicapped children to be educated at public expense in the public schools. Further, there are implications to give direction to advocates of education of handicapped children in areas of inservice and public relations. / Ed. D.

Community participation has increased over the last twenty years. The states of California, Florida, Hawaii and South Carolina have mandated representative community advisory councils. The purpose of this study was to investigate on a national level the attitude of local school board members toward community participation-community control within the selected areas of curriculum, finance, personnel and student affairs, and the relationship of this attitude to selected demographic and personal data. The population for this descriptive research was school board member subscribers to The American School Board Journal. A stratified random sample of 17% received the National Questionnaire on Attitudes of School Board Members. Responses were analyzed according to frequency distribution and crosstabulation procedures to determine significance between respondent's attitude and demographic and personal variables. Respondents reported that there were six areas in which the community should be involved, are presently involved, and to which they would be willing to delegate decision-making responsibility. These areas were: Education Objectives; Construction, Renovation or Closing of Schools; Curriculum Evaluation; Determination of Local Tax Rates; Student Discipline; and Expenditures for School Operation. The respondents differed in attitude toward the six areas mentioned above across demographic and personal variables. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to report on policy changes implemented by school boards in the past two school years (1982-1984) in the areas of graduation requirements, financial incentives for teachers, instructional time, and homework. The survey also obtained information on program curtailment and or elimination. A stratified random sample (4,134) of 17 percent was drawn from the population of subscribers to the American School Board Journal who are local school board members. A return rate of 24.8 percent (1,027) was realized. The survey used in this study was designed to accomplish two purposes. One was to collect demographic and personal data to be treated in the study. The data employed concerned state, region, and school district population; school district classification; family income; marital status; occupation; race; age; educational attainment; and years served as a board member. The second purpose of the survey was to gather data involving changes implemented by school boards in the last two years in the selected areas. Respondents reported significant increases in graduation requirements in mathematics, language arts, computer technology, and science. In the area of course curtailment, music, driver education, art, industrial arts, and health/physical education were most frequently cited as being reduced. Secondary driver education was most frequently cited by the respondents as being eliminated. In the category of instructional time, the respondents' first choice for policy changes was increasing class time. Second most often cited was lengthening the school day. Increasing the school year was the area least cited by the respondents. Suggestions for further research include (1) the further exploration of the long range fiscal impact of the changes and (2) the investigation of a more comprehensive sample of demographic and personal variables that might be related to policy changes implemented by school boards. / Ed. D.