The implementation of public law 94-142 for handicapped children in the diocesan parochial schools of Tennessee: school year 1981-82

The purposes of this study were to determine: (a) the parochial schools administrator's opinion regarding the implementation of PL 94- 142: Part B in the Roman Catholic parochial schools of Tennessee, (b) the incidence of suspected handicapped children in the parochial schools of Tennessee, (c) the options for special education provided for the suspected handicapped parochial children by the public schools, (d) the related services made available by the public schools, and (e) the options for special education provided for the suspected handicapped students by the parochial schools of Tennessee.

The 41 diocesan parochial schools in Tennessee participated in the census. There were responses from 75% of the schools' administrators regarding the level of special education programs, and from 97.5% of the schools regarding the special education options afforded the suspected handicapped children in the parochial population.

Analysis of the chi square contingency table indicated that the geographic location of the parochial school was a significant factor in the screening and referral of the parochial handicapped student. The size of the local education agency (LEA) was a significant factor associated with the type and quality of special education programs which were made available to the parochial schools. The success of the screening, referral, and testing of suspected handicapped parochial students was also associated with the size of the LEA. The census data indicated that approximately 24% of the parochial administrators had some degree of cooperation with the LEA regarding the development of special education programs. While 19.35% of the administrators gave written approval of the LEA special education programs, 12.9% signed written statements indicating they did not desire to participate in the public special education programs. The percentage of suspected handicapped students in the diocesan parochial schools was 5.3% of the total population. The LEAs provided screening and verification for fewer than 1% of those students. The parochial schools did not often provide separate special education programs by their own staffs for the handicapped parochial students. Most handicapped students were included in the regular classroom with some type of special attention by the regular classroom teacher.