Integrating the Children of the Second System.

Abstract

IN AN AVERAGE week at least 15,000 children across the U.S. are referred for special diagnosis in their schools because of learning and behavioral problems. Most of them are placed in special education pro grams. On any given day about 4.5 mil lion students are enrolled in special edu cation, two-thirds of them for relatively minor problems. In effect, a second sys tem of education has been created that serves children with diverse learning problems and disabilities. Education for students with special learning needs has been largely ignored in the recent school reforms. We wish discuss here the problems that have surfaced from the proliferation of sec ond programs and recommend steps bring about needed reforms. We propose integrating second-system pro rams into regular education form a comprehensive educational system that encompasses a wide range of coordinat ed programs and alternative educational opportunities. Such a system, we believe, can improve the schools' capabilities for meeting the diverse needs of all the stu dents they serve. Most special programs have not been carefully evaluated. Parents appreciate some of them, but others carry a stigma and are resented by students and parents. T e labels attached some programs are irrelevant the nature of students' in structional needs. A National Research Council panel of the National Academy of Sciences recommended that the place ment team that labels and places a child in a special program be responsible to demonstrate that any differential label used is related a distinctive prescrip tion for educational practices . . . that lead improved outcomes., Judged by these standards, current practices of clas sification and placement in special edu cation are woefully inadequate. Many schools also operate other cate gorical programs, such as Chapter 1, mi grant education, and remedial reading. Each program has its own special teach ers, eligibility requirements, account ability measures, and funding. Togeth er, these categorical programs form the second system of education for children floundering on the fringes of the main stream. Ironically, second-system pro grams have generated problems that hin der full achievement for the children they were designed help.