The related services component of P.L. 94-142 has been one of the most difficult features in providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for eligible handicapped students and it continues to be a persistent challenge. Related services have been a fertile area of disagreements between school personnel and parents because of the high cost of providing some services, and because of parents' requests for a variety of services, not necessarily within the intent of the law, to be provided at public expense. Issues involving related services have primarily focused on availability, service delivery models ensuring fiscal efficiency, compliance and legality. One area which has yet to be examined is the availability of criteria to guide school personnel in determining whether special education students are eligible for specific related services.;The purpose of this study is to investigate the availability of criteria for providing related services to special education students by surveying all state educational agencies and the District of Columbia. Directors of special education were requested to complete a survey instrument and provide a copy of their state eligibility criteria for related services.;The analysis of survey responses and the examination of selected eligibility criteria resulted in the following findings: (a) only one state has developed eligibility criteria for all related services as defined under P.L. 94-142; available criteria were most prevalent for speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, (b) variations exist among states in the practice of providing related services and (c) available eligibility criteria differ from state to state in terms of specificity. Recommendations for consideration by educational agencies on the issue of eligibility criteria are also provided.

The purpose of the study was to trace the state requirements for graduation in Virginia public schools from 1900 to 1976. The focus of the study was placed on four requirements for graduation--attendance, curriculum, credits, and tests.;In the study there was an examination of high school graduation requirements prior to 1900 in order that one may become familiar with the background of those events in Virginia education that helped to shape public education in Virginia from 1900 to 1976.;In the study it was found that in 1900 children were not required by state law to attend school, while in 1976 children had to attend school between the ages of six and seventeen years of age. While there was a state-devised curriculum in 1900, students did not have to complete a specific number of courses before graduation. By 1976, the curriculum required by the State Board of Education in order to graduate included four years of English, one year of mathematics, three years of social studies, one year of laboratory science, two years of health and physical education, and seven one-year elective courses.;In 1900, there was no quantitative measure to represent the satisfactory completion of a designated course. By 1976, the unit of credit was the quantitative measure of time, and it required a minimum time allotment of 150 clock hours. In 1976, eighteen units of credit were required for graduation. In 1900, there were no state-mandated tests in order to graduate from high school; however, in 1976, there were tests required to demonstrate minimum competencies in communicative skills, computational skills, history and cultures of the United States, democratic governance, the economic system in the United States, and the ability to pursue higher education in a job-entry skill.;It was found that the changes made in state-mandated graduation requirements for graduation were due in part to the demands of a technological society, the political climate in Virginia and the nation, and the leadership of educators, laymen and politicians. There was no evidence to indicate labor groups worked to support changes in the requirements.;Further study is needed to compare the requirements for graduation in Virginia with those of other states. It is also recommended that a study be made of the way school divisions in different regions of Virginia have implemented the graduation requirements.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of legal authority of Virginia division superintendents based upon State Constitutions and statutes between the years of 1869 and 1970. Four specific areas chosen to be investigated because of their importance were, respectively, certified personnel, finance, buildings, and policy formulation and execution.;Because of recent increases in public school expectations and seemingly parallel increases in the importance and complexity of the office of division superintendent, it was speculated that there would be a corresponding increase in the superintendent's legal authority. The hypotheses stated that between 1869 and 1970 there would be an increase in the Virginia division superintendent's legal authority in the areas of certificated personnel, finance, buildings, and policy formulation and execution. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that increases would be as a result of mandatory Acts of the Virginia Assembly.;Appropriate State Constitutions, Acts of the Virginia General Assembly, and Codes of Virginia were cross referenced, examined, and analyzed to determine fluctuations of the legal authority of division superintendents.;This study found that there has been no overall increase in the legal authority of Virginia division superintendents in the respective areas of certificated personnel, finance, buildings, and policy formulation and execution between 1869 and 1970. This suggests that recent growth in the division superintendent's legal authority must have come from other sources.;Further study of a similar nature is suggested in other areas such as curriculum and pupil personnel. Other states also need to be examined to determine national perspective. Finally, this study might by replicated from 1970 to the present to help determine the current status and direction.

The purpose of this study was to determine if those who influenced Virginia certification regulations incorporated research on teacher performance or pupil achievement to establish or to support their positions. The years 1958 to 1982 were studied with the analysis concentrating on the regulations approved in 1981 and 1982.;Twenty-five individuals who had or may have had influence or were involved in the certification process were interviewed. The interviewees were members of at least one of nine groups. Three of these groups were considered decision-making groups, and six were considered nondecision-making groups.;An influences process model, a communication model, and content analysis were used in analyzing the certification revision process. The hypotheses were tested by the results of interview responses and written information, usually in the form of position papers, provided by the interviewees. (1) The hypothesis that the procedures used by Virginia certification bodies in adopting certification regulations did not incorporate research data on teacher performance or pupil achievement was accepted. (2) The hypothesis that individuals and organizations who influenced or who tried to influence the decision makers in the certification revision process did not rely on or use research data on teacher performance or pupil achievement to support their positions was rejected since at least two groups used research data related to teacher performance or pupil achievement to support their positions.;The teacher certification regulations were not a result of research on teacher performance or pupil achievement. The procedures used by certification bodies in recommending and adopting regulations had no specific provision incorporating research on teacher performance or pupil achievement.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between school environment and student achievement in several high schools in an urban school division in Virginia. The subjects for this study were eleventh grade students, randomly selected teachers of eleventh graders and the principal of each school. Nine high schools buildings are in the school division, of which eight were used in this investigation. The one school not included in the study was an alternative high school whose students attended classes at various places throughout the division.;The initial group tested consisted of 1225 students, 114 teachers, and 8 principals. Incomplete test data resulted in 190 students being dropped from the study, leaving 984 students.;The school environment was assessed by the School Environment Questionnaire developed by Brookover, et al. at Michigan State University. Student achievement was measured by the students' composite score on the SRA Achievement Test Series administered to all eleventh grade students in the State of Virginia in the fall of 1979. The questionnaires were categorized by groups of respondents (students, teachers and principals) and by school within groups. Three separate varimax rotation factor analyses were performed. Correlations were performed on climate factors, socio-economic status, percentage-white students and STEA with achievement. A series of stepwise regression analyses on the dependent variable achievement and the various predictor variables were also performed.;The first tested hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between student perceptions and staff perceptions of the school environment was accepted. Correlation analyses between student climate factors and teacher climate factors and between student climate factors and principal climate factors resulted in 19 significant correlations at the .05 level. Since all six student climate factors correlated significantly with three teacher climate factors and with two of the principal climate factors, a relationship existed between student and staff perceptions.;The second tested hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between achievement and school environment was also accepted. Correlations indicated that: (1) student perceptions were more related to achievement than teacher and principal perceptions; (2) teacher perceptions were more related to achivement than principal perceptions; and, (3) the schools with the highest mean achievement also had the highest number of positive correlations between climate factors and achievement.

Educators are required by federal and state mandates to use data in order to improve student achievement and teacher performance in public schools. The public's faith in public schools is dependent upon the school organization's ability to respond to the data and to make changes that will improve schools. The perceptions of members of the school organization regarding barriers and facilitative strategies that either hinder or promote the effective use of data, respectively, inherently impact the effective use of data. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of school staff members regarding the use of data to make educational decisions.;Although the use of data to make informed decisions to improve an organization's capacity to reach defined goals holds promise, the process of implementing an organizational structure and developing a culture and climate that facilitate the use of data within the public schools presents challenges. This study showed that although the respondents generally agreed that the school and/or district had the cultural components to facilitate greater student achievement, barriers existed that limit the most effective use of data within the organization.

Superintendents of residential schools for the deaf were the subjects of a study to determine what effects career orientation had on the implementation of role changes since the passage of Public Law 94-142 in 1975. Career orientation is a construct concerned with whether an individual succeeds to an executive position from a lower rank within the hiring institution from inside (place-bound) or from outside (career-bound).;Prior to this study career orientation had only been examined in terms of superintendents of public school districts where the variable was found to identify a 2 to 1 ratio of career-bound to place-bound. The current study examined the role of career orientation among top administrators of a residential school.;The study used a questionnaire mailed to 66 administrators of residential schools for the deaf. There were 58 (88%) useable surveys returned. Significant differences were found among career-bound and place-bound superintendents in residential schools for the deaf. First, career- and place-bound superintendents were found in the same ratio as public school superintendents, 2 to 1. Second, superintendents with differing career orientations also had significant differences in: age of completion of doctorate degree, full-time attendance in doctoral programs, number of years lapsed between master's and doctorate degrees, geographical mobility, attitudes of mobility, and publication rate. However, implementation of institutional change did not show significant differences between the two groups of superintendents varying in career orientation.;It was concluded that the many similarities in educational preparation and professional behavior between the two groups may account for similar administrative behavior. Further, the 1975 mandate for change was applicable to all educational programs receiving federal funds. Therefore, changes were important to nearly all educational administrators.;It was recommended that the relation between career orientation and change implementation be studied in a context free of legislative mandate, and applied to a group of educational leaders with a greater likelihood of difference in educational preparation. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).

Principals are accountable for juggling multiple competing tasks daily. This study explored the degrees of emphasis placed upon leadership and management behaviors of school principals in Virginia by determining the congruence of job descriptions and evaluation instruments with state and professional standards. State expectations were communicated to varying degrees by responding school divisions in both job descriptions and evaluation instruments. School divisions universally expected principals to focus upon instruction and parent and staff communication, while other state responsibilities received less attention. Organizational management that focused on facilities maintenance was communicated as an important responsibility by a majority of school divisions but was not mentioned in state standards. A high level of congruence was found between job descriptions and evaluation instruments for most Virginia state responsibilities. A majority of school divisions' evaluation instruments encompassed professional standards. However, less emphasis was revealed for responsibilities related to the larger society. Implications of this study indicate the need for Virginia school divisions to align job descriptions and evaluation instruments with state standards to support the work of principals, and for Virginia state standards to include major responsibilities required by a majority of school divisions.

The major purpose of this study was to identify and document the responsibilities of current assistant principals in the Commonwealth of Virginia and compare them to those found in the extant literature on the assistant principalship, as well as the responsibilities outlined in the Code of Virginia. Additionally, the responsibilities of current assistant principals were compared to the responsibilities of current principals in Virginia.;A survey instrument adapted from the Maine Principals' Study of 2001 was used to collect data from a random stratified sample of 50 elementary, 50 middle, and 50 high school assistant principals, and 50 elementary, 50 middle, and 50 high school principals from Virginia. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to determine whether any significant differences existed between the mean averages that assistant principals reported for seven Activity Clusters when considering the gender, school level, or ethnicity of assistant principals (p < .05).;Student discipline, supervising and evaluating teachers, responding to teachers' needs, contacting parents about their children, and working with special needs student issues were reported as the top five responsibilities performed by assistant principals. However, the data also confirmed that assistant principals in Virginia occasionally to often perform duties in the Activity Clusters of personnel and student management, instructional leadership, professional development, interactions with education hierarchy, and public relations. Further, assistant principal respondents consistently reported that they rarely to occasionally perform duties in the Activity Cluster of resource management and lack exposure to the responsibilities of budget preparation and purchasing and accounting procedures. Assistant principal respondents seemed to have a clear picture of the duties that they reported performing and complimented the duties of their principals in 15 out of 38 identified individual responsibilities. These results did not support the findings reported within the literature, which portrays assistant principals as devoting the majority of their time to student discipline and personnel supervision and evaluation.;No significant differences were reported in the responsibilities of assistant principals when compared by gender and ethnicity. The Activity Cluster of instructional leadership reported a significant difference between the mean averages of middle and high school assistant principals at the .05 confidence level.;Virginia assistant principals perform a wide variety of duties that fulfill the 15 expectations set forth for principals in the Code of Virginia. However, they reported that they lack preparation in resource management, particularly in areas dealing with the budget, budget preparation, and accounting procedures.;Assistant principals and principals in Virginia showed strong comparability among the seven activity clusters. No significant differences were reported between the reported mean averages of assistant principals and principals within these seven Activity Clusters. Assistant principals in Virginia reported spending less time than their principals in budget and purchasing procedures.;Ninety-five percent (95%) of assistant principal and principal respondents reported that assistant principal duties are assigned by the principal. Two-thirds (66%) of current assistant principals aspire to a principalship. The remaining assistant principals indicated that they desire to become career assistant principals, retire, or assume a central office position, such as a superintendency.