A DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS OF THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT BY SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL SCHOOL DISTRICTS (ADMINISTRATION)

This study compared the differences between successful and unsuccessful school districts in their implementation of the least restrictive environment mandate. The purpose of this study was to provide a description of the status of seven critical administrative factors in local education agencies. The seven critical administrative factors are: Organizational support for the LRE concept, selection of appropriate service delivery patterns, assignment of personnel, a responsive staff development program, school personnel acceptance, community acceptance and parental acceptance. Differences in the level of importance, success and implementation of these seven factors by successful and unsuccessful school districts were compared. Variables such as per pupil expenditure, percentage of handicapped students served, district size were also investigated. Forty-six school districts from sixteen states participated in this study. Group I consisted of twenty-one school districts which were unsuccessful in the implementation of LRE. Group II consisted of twenty-five that were successful in the implementation of LRE. The subjects were located in sixteen different states. Five of these states are in the East, two from the South, two from the West, and seven from the Midwest. Subjects were voluntary and given anonymity. The research design was descriptive. Data were collected from two instruments: (1) the Diagnostic Profile a questionnaire developed by Stetson, Elting, Gibbs, and Raimondi, (1981) and (2) the LEA Profile an instrument designed to gather demographic information. Using t-test comparisons, the following hypotheses were tested: (1) There will be differences between successful and unsuccessful school districts and their ratings of the seven critical factors. (2) Successful school districts will have a smaller per pupil expenditure for special education than unsuccessful school districts. (3) Successful school districts will serve a greater percentage of handicapped students than unsuccessful school districts. (4) The district size of successful school districts will be larger than unsuccessful school districts. Results of this study provided a profile of the implementation of the least restrictive environment by successful and unsuccessful school districts. No significant differences between the two groups were found.