A STUDY OF THE JUDICIAL AND COMPLIANCE RULINGS INVOLVING THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT SECTIONS OF P.L. 94-142 (MAINSTREAM, HANDICAPPED CHILDREN)

The preamble to PL 94-142 stated that the Department of Education envisioned the development of regulations for implementing EAHCA as an evolutionary process that would allow for flexibility as the implications of the Act's impact on the nation's school districts became apparent. It opted for a minimum of regulations with the intention of revising them as need and experience dictated. This study analyzed and compared the decisions (both judicial and compliance level) in all cases involving least restrictive environment (LRE), between 1978 and 1984, to determine what the interpretations of LRE have been, whether there has been consistency in interpretation, and whether there is a need to revise or amend the regulations to provide a clearer statement of intent and more specific definitions.;Provision of an appropriate education was the primary concern in all the cases involving LRE. It was frequently impossible to deliver an appropriate program in the LRE because an appropriate program was not offered, there were conditions that made the LRE a more restrictive environment, a more restrictive environment was the most appropriate, or there was a demonstrated lack of progress in a current placement. Once the appropriate program was determined, then the need for interaction with nonhandicapped peers, the distance from the child's home to an appropriate program, and the financial considerations of the placement were addressed. The rulings were consistent when these factors were the determining issues.;The absence of a clear definition of an appropriate educational program was found to be the major area of inconsistency. These inconsistencies were not confined to any particular handicapping condition with the result that where similar needs existed, irrespective of handicapping condition, and where similar services and options were requested or offered, different placements were ordered.;A clear definition of an appropriate educational program is necessary to assure that all handicapped children with the same needs receive an equal educational program, and to provide a basis for decisions separating educational from custodial services so as to assure that limited resources are expended for educating the handicapped.