Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-117). Also available in print.

Since the late 1980's, both the federal government and the Massachusetts state government have encouraged the practice of integrating students with disabilities into regular classroom environments. Proponents of this practice assert that all students will benefit from this arrangement and that it represents a less costly approach to educating special needs children. In fact, there is very little research to substantiate conclusions about whether or not integration is less costly than more traditional special educational programs. To learn more about this question, special education costs in two school districts were analyzed. The cost description model used in this study was developed by Lewis, Bruininks and Thurlow in their 1988 study of school-based special education programs. Data about special education costs were collected for a school year before implementation, and then for a school year after implementation. In both districts, there was an increase in costs and enrollments in the less restrictive prototypes and in pre-school programs. Enrollments and costs decreased in most of the more costly and restrictive prototypes. Per pupil costs varied by enrollment trends. Although few students were enrolled in private programs, these placements had a significant impact on the overall cost picture. The less restrictive programs served more students in the post year than during the earlier year and this helped to restrict cost increases. The rural district saw their total costs increase significantly, after discounting for inflation. Salary increases, incentives for professional development and the hiring of new staff, were factors behind the increase in total costs. The suburban district realized cost savings over the six years of the study after discounting for inflation. This district changed staff assignments but did not add new teachers. A very costly collaborative program was reorganized and much of the savings were due to this reduction. Private placements were also reduced. The cost description model developed by Lewis is flexible and allows for differences in enrollments and programs. As special education costs will vary in each district according to their particular circumstances, integration should be promoted or debated, not on the basis of costs, but according to whether or not it is in the best interests of children with disabilities.

This study traces the judicial history and educational impact of Honig v. Doe, the Supreme Court decision concerning the suspension of special needs students. In addition, the related Massachusetts Discipline Policy for Students with Special Needs is reviewed, analyzed and compared to Honig. This study also reviewed alternatives to suspension and related court cases. An integral part of the dissertation is a five-page questionnaire distributed to 150 Massachusetts Special Education Administrators and 150 Massachusetts Junior and Senior High School Principals. The overall response rate was 63.7%. The questionnaire queries the policy, the administrators' knowledge of, and attitudes towards the policy, experience with the implementation of the policy, and the alternative discipline methods being used in Massachusetts. An analysis of these responses indicates that more than three-quarters of the administrators who replied correctly answered questions testing their basic knowledge and understanding of the policy and how it was being implemented in their respective schools or school districts. The survey shows a high degree of compliance with the policy's requirements of keeping records of special needs student suspensions and convening Team meetings whenever special needs students' suspensions are expected to total ten days. Furthermore, 89.5% of administrators indicated they have never used the courts to exclude special needs students from school. Alternatives to suspension were also reported with after school detention and in-school suspension being the most common for both regular and special education. More than half of the administrators believed that the policy, which limited the school's authority to suspend special education students, had a negative effect on discipline for special education students. Recommendations are made to help administrators better understand and implement the policy. Areas in need of further research are indicated, including the availability of administrators' access to and utilization of the school attorney and the extent to which the stay-put provision of P.L. 94-142 has prevented administrators from suspending special needs students.

An ethnographic approach was used to determine how families of young special needs children and the staff of an early intervention program perceived the process of developing an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP). With the emphasis placed by Public Legislation 99-457 on family involvement when treating these children the study was organized to better understand the environment as a culture where families and professionals interacted. A naturalistic investigation was considered the most appropriate way to gather these data. Five families were followed over a nine-month period where they were observed during all aspects of the Early Intervention (EI) program and were interviewed about the IFSP document and process. Another five families served as a focus group in order to validate the data. The data revealed that perceptions were associated with decision making, whether the IFSP was child or family focused, and how families and staff related based on their assumptions about reach other's roles. The results are discussed in terms of how cultural imperatives construct the way early intervention programs operate and how they must be taken into consideration if families are to be fully incorporated into the education of their disabled child.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-100).

Thesis (Ed. Spec.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sp.Ed.)--University of Waikato, 2008. / Title from PDF cover (viewed February 25, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-80)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 152 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-141).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-100). Also available in print.