The Tenth Annual Report to Congress: One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round?

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Education's Tenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act contains improvements, but most infirmities of previous reports on progress toward meeting the goals of Public Law 94–142. Major criticisms include (a) continued overdependence on reporting numbers of students without descriptions of evolutions in service delivery, and (b) a lack of information about service delivery which includes the perspective of practitioners in local school districts where the service delivery occurs. The report further prompts even more questions about the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) monitoring findings and reinforces the need for improved communication between local practitioners and those who form national public education policy.