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THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC LAW 94-142 IN THE JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Abstract
Public Law 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act) of 1975 mandated free and appropriate educational services for all handicapped children (ages 3-21) by September, 1980. Within the limits of the mandates, the local education agencies were given the autonomy to meet requirements according to their own educational needs, subject to the guidelines of their state education agencies. In order to identify local needs for compliance with Public Law 94-142, the Jamestown Teachers Association joined the American Education Association in the administration of an initial needs assessment survey in January, 1978. Classroom teachers' responses indicated that the local education agency did not provide the necessary training to help teachers recognize and respond to the needs of the mildly handicapped children in the regular classroom. It was recommended that further local study be made to establish what in-service training might best meet professional development needs to more fully implement Public Law 94-142. This study, conducted in the eight elementary schools of the Jamestown, New York Public School District, was designed for the purpose of determining the degree to which the elementary teachers and principals agreed with the intent of Public Law 94-142, and their perceptions of their competence and need for professional development in working with handicapped children in the regular classrooms. The setting for this study was the city of Jamestown located in the southwest tier of New York State near the Pennsylvania border (population 43,000). The School District, with 7,000 pupils and 400 teachers, has provided services for over 400 handicapped children. The placements for these handicapped children in special classes, residential schools, alternative programs or special support services are the responsibility of the Committee on Handicapped (COH) as mandated in Public Law 94-142. The instrument designed and utilized for this study consisted of three sections. The first section elicited demographic information concerning the respondents' years of experience, professional preparation and credit hours in special education courses. The second and third sections were designed to provide answers to the research questions of this study by determining to what degree the elementary teachers and principals agreed with the intent of Public Law 94-142 and by ascertaining their perceptions of their competence and need for professional development in working with handicapped children in the regular classrooms. The survey instrument was distributed to the teachers and principals in the elementary schools in November, 1978; from the 165 surveys distributed there was a response of 100 or 68 percent. In general, the population of the study was undecided or unfavorable in attitude toward the intent of Public Law 94-142. A majority of the population agreed that mainstreaming is beneficial to both the handicapped and non-handicapped children, but only when the teachers were interested and willing. Overall interest in any of the listed types of in-service programs was average rather than enthusiastic, with demonstrations by specialists reported as the first choice. The majority of the study population revealed they felt unsure and unready to work with handicapped children without professional development. The recommendations of this study were set forth for those administratively responsible for the implementation of Public Law 94-142 in the Jamestown, New York Public Elementary Schools. An ongoing professional development program should be established for the purpose of proper implementation of the Law, utilizing the expressed interest of the respondents. This in-service programming should emphasize the positive aspects of mainstreaming with respect to personal values and interpersonal relationships.
Subject Area
Elementary education
Recommended Citation
THIES, PHOEBE A, "THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC LAW 94-142 IN THE JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8021360.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8021360