The Resource Room

There are few comprehensive textbooks available to special educators responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring resource room programs. McNamara's book fills this void by providing teachers and administrators with helpful, practical information and by exploring the role of the resource room teacher as it relates to three major functions: assessment, instruction, and consultation. The information provided should also assist administrators and supervisors to evaluate their own existing resource room programs.

There are few comprehensive textbooks available to special educators responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring resource room programs. McNamara’s book fills this void by providing teachers and administrators with helpful, practical information and by exploring the role of the resource room teacher as it relates to three major functions: assessment, instruction, and consultation. The information provided should also assist administrators and supervisors to evaluate their own existing resource room programs.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 has placed a renewed emphasis on the importance of the regular classroom, the regular classroom teacher and the general curriculum as the primary focus of special education. This book contains over 100 topics that deal with real issues and concerns regarding the regular classroom and the special education process. These concerns range from requirements for referring a child for an individual evaluation, school discipline, classroom-based assessment, IEP meetings, inclusion and mainstreaming, and various legal requirements relating to IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the No Child Left Behind act. It stresses the importance that every child with a disability must have goals "to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum." Other issues interspersed within this text include classroom needs, the planning of individualized education programs, and participation in all aspects of the general curriculum. In order to achieve these goals, support for the regular classroom teacher must be provided so that children with disabilities can be involved in, and make progress in, the curriculum and participate in nonacademic activities.

This report focuses on issues relating to the development of individualized education programs for and placement of students who are classified as having mental retardation, learning disabilities, behavioral disabilities, or serious emotional disturbances. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights examined present-day barriers and inequities that deny students with these types of disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in educational programs. The report analyzes and evaluates the Office for Civil Right's (OCR) implementation, compliance, and enforcement efforts for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. It discusses other Federal disability laws, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, to the extent that they relate to Section 504.

This is a basic text on the education of exceptional children, covering fundamentals of special education and integrated education for various categories of exceptional children: the mentally retarded, the hearing handicapped, the visually handicapped, the learning disabled, the slow learner, the emotionally disturbed, the speech and language handicapped, the physically handicapped, the gifted, and the socially disadvantaged. It also covers the genesis of the special education movement in our country, policies and programmes, critical issues and innovations, the rights of the disabled, manpower development, avenues and research perspectives in education of exceptional children.