| This case study was conducted in three geographically contiguous elementary school districts in a suburb of a major metropolitan area. Each of these districts, as well as the fourth neighboring high school district, has its own Superintendent, Business Officer, and Board of Education.;The study was designed to examine the cooperative initiatives that existed in the management of the elementary districts' special education programs in 1992-1993. The purpose of this examination was to determine the types and the extents of these cooperative arrangements and also how they aligned to a model of management systems created by Dr. Frank Smith, professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. This model includes individually managed, individually contracted, jointly contracted, individually cooperative, BOCES cooperative, collaborative, and consolidated systems.;A data collection instrument was completed by key staff members in each district. Copies of state and federal reports and other documentation were also provided by the districts. Interviews were then conducted with each district's staff. The resulting data were organized into tables, graphs, and diagrams that facilitated analyses and comparisons.;The three districts predominantly used an individually managed approach in special education. Individual contracting and BOCES cooperations were also substantially used by all of the districts. There was some evidence of joint contracting, individually cooperative efforts, and very minimal collaboration. No consolidation was evident in any of the districts.;Although the three districts have effectively serviced their special education students, there are several areas that could be improved through collaboration. One of those is the hiring of a centralized Special Services director to coordinate all of the districts' special education and remedial programs and to develop vehicles and systematic processes for articulation among the staff of all the districts. The second greatest area of need is the purchase of an advanced computer information system that would enable the districts to exchange information and explore other possible cooperative initiatives. |
