Difference Between School Districts Which Employ Certificated Special Education Administration and Districts Which Do Not, TheAuthor: Lyle Barber
In 1975, Congress passed the original Education for All Handicapped Children Act. It was renewed in 1990, 1997, and 2004. During the first revision, the name was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. This Act requires school districts that receive federal funding to provide a free appropriate public education, a term that originates in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Section 504 of this Act places specific requirements on access to education. The idea is that all persons are entitled to equal access to appropriate education.
The appropriateness of individual educational programs is subjective by nature. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a difference existed in student performance between the Missouri public school districts that employed a certificated, special education administrator and the districts that did not employ a certificated, special education administrator. A difference in performance would indicate that students were receiving a less appropriate education than in districts that did employ a certificated, special education administrator. Conversely, if the hypothesis were true that no difference existed between districts that employed a certificated, special education administrator and districts that did not employ such an administrator, the implications would be that districts should avoid this expenditure. The absence of differences in performance could also have implications for the effectiveness of preservice training for special education administrators. The researcher conducted an independent samples t-test of Missouri public school districts that employed a certificated, special education administrator and Missouri public school districts that did not employ a certificated, special education administrator. The researcher sought to compare the differences between achievement levels and post-secondary activities of students with disabilities. The researcher compared the differences between the Missouri Assessment Program scores and the results of a post-secondary survey of student activities for Missouri public school districts that employed a certificated, special education director and districts that did not employ such an administrator. This study is significant to the body of education professional knowledge because the differences, or lack thereof, could guide Missouri school districts in how the districts choose to staff administrative positions. Additionally, the results of this study could have implications in determining whether districts provide educational opportunities that are deemed as appropriate education in the context of satisfying free appropriate public education. The educational governance should consider the results of this study when making policy, for it applies to the requirements for special education administration.
The findings of the research revealed that district s that did not employ a certificated Special Education Administrator performed comparable to districts that did employ a certificated Special Education Director. These findings reviled that districts that did not employ a certificated Special Education Administrator have not failed to provide FAPE solely based on access to a certificated Special Education Administrator.