State variation in placement of children with handicaps in segregated environments.

State variation in placement of children with handicaps in segregated environments. ABSTRACT: Data Provided by states over the past 10 years demonstratelittle change in the use of separate facilities for students withhandicaps. However, state-to-state variation in reliance on the variouseducational placements is quite high, indicating far less stability inservice patterns than the national data would suggest. F-] The leastrestrictive environment As part of the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the least restrictive environment is identified as one of the six principles that govern the education of students with disabilities. provision of P.L. 94-142 creates a Presumption A conclusion made as to the existence or nonexistence of a fact that must be drawn from other evidence that is admitted and proven to be true. A Rule of Law.If certain facts are established, a judge or jury must assume another fact that the law recognizes as a logical in favor of upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of.See also: favor educating children with handicaps in regular educationenvironments. Placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE LRE Long-Reach EthernetLRE Least Restrictive EnvironmentLRE Law-Related EducationLRE Long Range Ethernet (Cisco)LRE Launch and Recovery ElementLRE Latest Revised EstimateLRE Lead Responsible EngineerLRE Low Bit-Rate Encoding ) hasbeen discussed and contested in advocacy The act of Pleading or arguing a case or a position; forceful persuasion. efforts, professionalliterature, the courts, countless due process hearings, and in theregulation development process for the 12 years since the law'ssigning. The statute and implementing regulations require that, first,educational services appropriate for each child be defined annually inan Individualized Education Program In the United States an Individualized Education Program, commonly referred to as an IEP, is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In Canada an equivalent document is called an Individual Education Plan. (IEP IEPIn currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Irish Punt.Notes:The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ); and, then, an educationalplacement be selected from a continuum Continuum (pl. -tinua or -tinuums) can refer to: Continuum (theory), anything that goes through a gradual transition from one condition, to a different condition, without any abrupt changes or "discontinuities" of alternatives so that theindividually appropriate education can be delivered in the setting thatis least removed from the regular education environment and that offersthe greatest interaction with children who are not handicapped. Toassist in implementing the least restrictive environment requirement,federal monitoring, discretionary grants, and technical assistanceefforts have been designed to build the capacity of regular educationalenvironments to serve children with disabilities. Though there has been significant professional discussion relatedto LRE, there has been little empirical em��pir��i��caladj.1. Relying on or derived from observation or experiment.2. Verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment.3. analysis of the extent to whichvarious educational placements actually are used. Data presented in theU.S. Department of Education's Annual Reports to Congress on theimplementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Office ofSpecial Education Programs, 1988) indicate little variation over time inthe national composite use of the various settings. For example, Figure1, which presents data since 1976-77, reveals little change in the useof separate facilities for students with handicaps over the decade. Thisperiod shows an increase in the use of regular class placements whichmost likely reflects the increase in students with learningdisabilities. One interpretation of these data is that the relative use of thevarious environments reflects educationally related characteristics ofindividuals with different types and levels of disabilities. Thisinterpretation would suggest that there is little potential for changeor improvement. It would further suggest that the patterns of servicesacross environments would be relatively similar across states. Thepresent article investigates this possibility by examiningstate-to-state variability in use of alternative placements during themost recent year for which data are available, school year 1085-86. ifstate-to-state variability does exist, this would demonstrate potentialfor improvement in the national effort to educate children withhandicaps in less restrictive environments. Clear information on thenature of this variability could aid in budget planning and prioritysetting, and could provide a baseline The horizontal line to which the bottoms of lowercase characters (without descenders) are aligned. See typeface. baseline - released version against which future improvementscould be measured. A second purpose of this article is to provide anopportunity for professional review and discussion of a method ofanalyzing data on educational placements. The analyses discussed havenot been included in the previous reports to the Congress and aredistributed in this article so that their inclusion in future reportscan be done with the benefit of the interpretation that follows theprofessional discussion this year. The specific questions to which this article is addressed are: (1)To what extent are students placed in environments that remove them fromthe regular education environment? and (2) What is the state-to-statevariability in the use of those placement categories. METHOD DataSources Each year states submit data to the Office of Special EducationPrograms (OSEP OSEP Office of Special Education ProgramsOSEP Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel (National Research Council)OSEP Office of Security and Emergency PreparednessOSEP Operations Standardization Evaluation Program ) in the U. S. Department of Education on the number ofchildren with handicaps who are served in each of six differenteducational placements: regular class, resource room, separate class,separate day school, separate residential school, and home/hospital.Figure 2 presents the definition of these environments used in datacollection. These data are among the data requirements mandated inSection 618 of Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Statesare required to report an unduplicated count of all children withhandicaps, by type of placement and disability category, for studentsaged 3-5, 6-11, 12-17, and 18-21. Data Collection and Verification A setof data forms and instructions developed by OSEP are mailed to thestates each year. States, in turn, are responsible for collecting andcompiling com��pile?tr.v. com��piled, com��pil��ing, com��piles1. To gather into a single book.2. To put together or compose from materials gathered from several sources: data from school districts and other agencies that servestudents with handicaps. Since all children, ages 3 through 2 1, whoreceive special education and related services are required to beincluded in this count, each agency within a state that serves studentswith handicaps must be involved in the state's data collection.Children in private placements where public funding Public funding is money given from tax revenue or other governmental sources to an individual, organization, or entity. See alsoPublic funding of sports venues Research funding Funding body is provided mustalso be counted. Once states have provided data to OSEP, editing and verification ofdata occur. Editing is a straightforward process of checking row andcolumn addition and examining forms for missing data. After thesechecks, data are examined for the presence of unusual data values.Typically, this involves year-to-year comparisons of each state'sdata to identify any unusual fluctuations which states are then asked toverify (1) To prove the correctness of data.(2) In data entry operations, to compare the keystrokes of a second operator with the data entered by the first operator to ensure that the data were typed in accurately. See validate. and explain. The data reported here did not undergo theyear-to-year analysis since the 1985-86 school year was only the secondyear of data collection using these particular forms. The firstyear's data were not judged to be of sufficient quality to permituseful comparison with data reported here. Because states'reporting of placement data has been relatively consistent from year toyear over the last decade, it is reasonable to assume they have acapacity to collect and report these data, even though the reportingforms have been altered somewhat. Cumulative Placement Rate In order tocompare state placement patterns, a statistic statistic,n a value or number that describes a series of quantitative observations or measures; a value calculated from a sample.statistica numerical value calculated from a number of observations in order to summarize them. , cumulative placement ratewas computed in the following way: A state's number of specialeducation students aged 6 through 17 years who were served in a selectededucational placement and all more segregated placements was divided bythe state's total population (Office of Special Education Programs,1988) in this age group. Defined in this way, the cumulative placementrate statistic allows one to ask what percentage of school-aged studentsin a state are served in a particular educational placement and all moresegregated placements. For the present analyses the statistic was limited to the6-through- 1 7 age group because of differences among states in theextent to which students under 6 and over 17 are included in mandatoryeducation programs. The data are analyzed an��a��lyze?tr.v. an��a��lyzed, an��a��lyz��ing, an��a��lyz��es1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations.2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of.3. across all handicapping For "handicap" as it refers to disabled persons, see Disability. For the evolutionary theory proposed by Israeli biologist Amotz Zahavi, see Handicap principle.Handicapping conditions. Because states exercise flexibility in defining handicappingconditions and sometimes use different or no categorical That which is unqualified or unconditional.A categorical imperative is a rule, command, or moral obligation that is absolutely and universally binding.Categorical is also used to describe programs limited to or designed for certain classes of people. systems, itwould be difficult to interpret variation in placement practices acrossstates within handicapping conditions. The states' flexibility in determining eligibility for specialeducation also affects the overall number of children with handicaps whoare served. Consequently, comparisons across states require reference tothe total school-age population, not just to the special education childcount. For example, computing computing - computer placement rate as a function of the totalspecial education child count rather than the state population duringthe most recent year for which data are available, school year 1085-86.If state-to-state variability does exist, this would demonstratepotential for improvement in the national effort to educate childrenwith handicaps in less restrictive environments. Clear information onthe nature of this variability could aid in budget planning and prioritysetting, and could provide a baseline against which future improvementscould be measured. A second purpose of this article is to provide anopportunity for professional review and discussion of a method ofanalyzing data on educational placements. The analyses discussed havenot been included in the previous reports to the Congress and aredistributed in this article so that their inclusion in future reportscan be done with the benefit of the interpretation that follows theprofessional discussion this year. The specific questions to which this article is addressed are: (1)To what extent are students placed in environments that remove them fromthe regular education environment? and (2) What is the state-to-statevariability in the use of those placement categories. METHOD DataSources Each year states submit data to the Office of Special EducationPrograms (OSEP) in the U. S. Department of Education on the number ofchildren with handicaps who are served in each of six differenteducational placements: regular class, resource room, separate class,separate day school, separate residential school, and home/hospital.Figure 2 presents the definition of these environments used in datacollection. These data are among the data requirements mandated inSection 618 of Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Statesare required to report an unduplicated count of all children withhandicaps, by type of placement and disability category, for studentsaged 3-5, 6-11, 12-17, and 18-21. Data Collection and Verification A setof data forms and instructions developed by OSEP are mailed to thestates each year. States, in turn, are responsible for collecting andcompiling data from school districts and other agencies that servestudents with handicaps. Since all children, ages 3 through 2 1, whoreceive special education and related services are required to beincluded in this count, each agency within a state that serves studentswith handicaps must be involved in the state's data collection.Children in private placements where public funding is provided mustalso be counted. Once states have provided data to OSEP, editing and verification ofdata occur. Editing is a straightforward process of checking row andcolumn addition and examining forms for missing data. After thesechecks, data are examined for the presence of unusual data values.Typically, this involves year-to-year comparisons of each state'sdata to identify any unusual fluctuations which states are then asked toverify and explain. The data reported here did not undergo theyear-to-year analysis since the 1985-86 school year was only the secondyear of data collection using these particular forms. The firstyear's data were not judged to be of sufficient quality to permituseful comparison with data reported here. Because states'reporting of placement data has been relatively consistent from year toyear over the last decade, it is reasonable to assume they have acapacity to collect and report these data, even though the reportingforms have been altered somewhat. Cumulative Placement Rate In order tocompare state placement patterns, a statistic, cumulative placement ratewas computed in the following way: A state's number of specialeducation students aged 6 through 17 years who were served in a selectededucational placement and all more segregated placements was divided bythe state's total population (Office of Special Education Programs,1988) in this age group. Defined in this way, the cumulative placementrate statistic allows one to ask what percentage of school-aged studentsin a state are served in a particular educational placement and all moresegregated placements. For the present analyses the statistic was limited to the6-through- 1 7 age group because of differences among states in theextent to which students under 6 and over 17 are included in mandatoryeducation programs. The data are analyzed across all handicappingconditions. Because states exercise flexibility in defining handicappingconditions and sometimes use different or no categorical systems, itwould be difficult to interpret variation in placement practices acrossstates within handicapping conditions. The states' flexibility in determining eligibility for specialeducation also affects the overall number of children with handicaps whoare served. Consequently, comparisons across states require reference tothe total school-age population, not just to the special education childcount. For example, computing placement rate as a function of the totalspecial education child count rather than the state population couldmake a state with a small overall special education child count that isserving few children with mild handicaps appear to be serving a largenumber of children in more segregated environments. Use of cumulative placement rate appears to be particularlyappropriate as a measure that begins at the most restrictive end of thecontinuum of placement alternatives. State-to-state differences in therate of identification of children with handicaps primarily affectwhether students with mild academic handicaps are counted in specialeducation. This variability can be assumed to make state-to-statecomparisons in use of regular class placements a function of bothstates' placement practices and their overall identification rates.By contrast, data collected on special education students can be assumedto be most comparable for more segregated environments. By examining theproportion of students served in more segregated settings, one can drawconclusions about use of less segregated environments. The presentanalysis excluded data on home and hospital placements because toolittle is known about how this placement category is used by the states.RESULTS Table I summarizes the data for the 50 states, the District ofColumbia District of Columbia,federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). , and Puerto Rico Puerto Rico(pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. for each of the six educational placements.Nearly 44% of the students with handicaps were served in resource roomswith another 26% served in regular classes. Consequently, over 70% ofthe students counted in special education spend a substantial amount oftime in regular education classes. Another 24% of students withhandicaps are educated in regular school buildings but are servedprimarily in segregated classes. Combining this with the regular classand resource room figures reveals that 94% of the children withhandicaps are educated in regular school buildings. Over 225,000students, or 6% of all students with handicaps, are educated in programsoutside the regular school building. Expressed as a function of theresident population of the U.S., 6- to 17-year-old children are placedin separate facilities at a national rate of approximately ap��prox��i��mate?adj.1. Almost exact or correct: the approximate time of the accident.2. 3,800 per onemillion of same-aged resident population. The placement of 6- to17-year-old students in residential facilities occurs at a rate ofapproximately 970 per million of same-aged population. The combined rateof placement in segregated facilities is over 4,800 students per millionof same-aged population. The state-by-state variation in the placement rate of children andyouth in segregated day and residential facilities is depicted de��pict?tr.v. de��pict��ed, de��pict��ing, de��picts1. To represent in a picture or sculpture.2. To represent in words; describe. See Synonyms at represent. in Figure3. The length of each bar reflects the cumulative rate of placement insegregated programs, with the lower portion showing rate of placement inresidential programs and the upper portion showing rate of placement inseparate day schools. There is considerable state-to-state variation.For example, in the District of Columbia the rate is nearly 15,000children per million, 25 times the rate in Oregon Oregon, city, United StatesOregon,city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. (about 600 childrenper million population). One method for analyzing this variability is to estimate thepotential for use of regular education settings by averaging thecumulative placement rates of the five states that place the feweststudents in segregated settings. The average state places nearly fivetimes as many students in segregated settings as facilities does suggestdifficulty in achieving results consistent with the LRE provisions, alow placement rate in segregated settings is not necessarily a testimonyto effectiveness of services. To demonstrate such effectiveness, stateswould also have to show that students receive the services necessary andachieve successfully. Third, attributing meaning to the degree of variability acrossstates is a matter more of values than empirical analysis. It isreasonable to assume that the needs of students will be similar acrossstates, and that random variation would be rather small in the summarydata on the large number of students served by a state. The extent ofvariability does suggest that factors in addition to the characteristicsof students are determinants of individual educational placements, andthat the decision-making power vested vestedadj. referring to having an absolute right or title, when previously the holder of the right or title only had an expectation. Examples: after 20 years of employment Larry Loyal's pension rights are now vested. (See: vest, vested remainder) in the IEP process has not beensufficient to overcome these factors. Of course, some of the variability across states may be the resultof measurement error. While states have been reporting placement datasince the 1976-77 school year, the current categories have been in usejust 2 years. The current instructions represent an improvement overearlier versions in that they define the various placementsoperationally. The current definitions, which are linked to the percentof time students actually spend in a placement, should provide greaterstate-to-state consistency in the of the placement categories. Samplingof school districts is not permitted for these data, so sampling erroris not present. However, the fact that each state administers the datacollection has the potential producing some inconsistency in��con��sis��ten��cy?n. pl. in��con��sis��ten��cies1. The state or quality of being inconsistent.2. Something inconsistent: many inconsistencies in your proposal. in theinterpretations of terms and instructions. Though OSEP has workedextensively with states in the past 2 years to imp comparability of datafrom state to state, continues to be of concern. Furthermore, states inthe degree to which they verify the LEA-reported data. Differences fromstate to state in data collection procedures and terminology couldaffect a states placement rate for segregated facilities. However it isnot at all likely that procedural or terminology differences couldaccount for the variance The discrepancy between what a party to a lawsuit alleges will be proved in pleadings and what the party actually proves at trial.In Zoning law, an official permit to use property in a manner that departs from the way in which other property in the same locality reported here. Nevertheless, interpretation ofplacement rate data for any particular state should proceed with somecaution until further work is done to determine that reported dataaccurately reflect each state's placement practices. The present analysis raises a number of questions for furtherresearch. Further analysis of both state and local data is needed toidentify specific factors that account for variability in cumulativeplacement rates. It would be helpful to know the extent to whichplacements outside regular school environments are made bynon-education-agencies for purposes other than education (e.g., by thecourts and social service agencies). It would also be helpful,particularly in the analysis of district-level data, to determinewhether factors such as urbanicity, district history of services,district size, district wealth, and so on, are associated withcumulative placement rates. The analysis reported here combined data for all handicappingconditions and used the 6-through-17 age range. Future analyses mightexamine variability in placement data within the handicappingconditions. Placement data might also be analyzed for each of the fourage groupings within which data are reported (i.e., 3-5, 6-11, 12-17,and 18-21 years). it is possible that even for the 6-through-17 agegroup there may be substantial differences in placement patterns betweenchildren of elementary school elementary school:see school. age and youth at the secondary schoollevel. In the next several years, there will be a great interest in theplacement data for children in the 3-through-5-year age group as statesmove toward the service mandate A judicial command, order, or precept, written or oral, from a court; a direction that a court has the authority to give and an individual is bound to obey.A mandate might be issued upon the decision of an appeal, which directs that a particular action be taken, or upon a established by P.L. 99-457. OSEP and states need to strengthen efforts to improve the accuracyand state-to-state comparability of data. As part of this, OSEP will becompiling descriptions of methods states use to collect, verify, andanalyze an��a��lyzev.1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations.2. To separate a chemical substance into its constituent elements to determine their nature or proportions.3. placement data. Furthermore, OSEP will attempt to work withseveral individual states to begin to examine within-state variabilityand to identify factors associated with this variance. REFERENCE Officeof Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. (1988). Toassure the free appropriate public education of all handicappedchildren. Tenth annual report to Congress on the implementation of theEducation of All Handicapped Act. Washington, DC: Author.