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School councils, a school-based decision making (SBDM) form of governance, are mandated for Kentucky public schools by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Commonly composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents, the school council is designed to be a form of democratic or shared school governance. The missions of school councils are prescribed in KERA and include the areas of instruction, administration, and personnel. A random survey of 252 Kentucky rural schools was conducted to investigate what missions their school councils undertook, what benefits these schools had gained from SBDM, and what problems the councils were facing. From the 132 school councils that responded, it was found that approximately 20 percent of the school councils undertook all missions specified by the law, and the majority of councils undertook most missions. Some of the missions were undertaken by various district offices, principals, or school committees. The schools had benefited from their councils making concrete policies, promoting communication, addressing student needs, identifying priority problems, reviewing curriculum, selecting personnel, and using resources efficiently. Main problems included lack of staff and parental involvement, poor understanding of legal requirements, weakness in coordinating committees, short-term vision, time constraints, unequal membership status, lack of focus on instruction-related matters, lack of efficiency, functioning as a rubber stamp, little contribution from parent members, and lots of politics on councils. Contains 22 references and the survey questionnaire. (Author/TD)

This paper examines how inclusion services are delivered in Kentucky rural regular schools. Survey responses were received from special educators in 261 rural regular schools throughout Kentucky. Vocational schools, treatment centers, alternative schools, and other special schools were not included in the survey. Results indicate that approximately 80 percent of responding schools practiced some form of inclusion, with variations in program implementation in terms of severity of disability or time spent in the regular classroom. It was also found that inclusion practice has increased in Kentucky in recent years, although only seven schools practiced full inclusion and two were planning to adopt it. Findings indicate lack of: teacher preparation, supplementary support, collaboration, and special instructional materials for exceptional students in many regular classrooms. In many schools, the roles of school staff with regard to inclusion practice were not well defined. The majority of regular teachers and many special educators lacked training in providing inclusive services. Contains 34 references and the survey questionnaire. (Author/TD)

A survey of 419 Kentucky regular public schools was conducted to investigate how special education services are presently delivered to children with disabilities in the context of the statewide educational reform movement. The study examined: (1) how many regular public schools in Kentucky are practicing full inclusion; (2) how full inclusion and inclusion are being practiced in Kentucky regular public schools in the context of the reform movement; (3) what changes are occurring in the special education field in the same context; and (4) what differences can be found between urban and rural schools in their special education service delivery systems. Results found that approximately 80 percent of the schools practice inclusion, and 20 percent apply full inclusion. The survey also found that lack of special instructional materials and supplementary aides in regular classrooms are problems in many Kentucky regular schools. Teachers were not adequately prepared to work in inclusive settings, and special and regular education teachers do not know their roles in full inclusion. Both rural and urban regular schools faced these problems. (Contains 41 references.) (CR)

The impact of Kentucky state testing on educational practices in Kentucky public schools was investigated via a survey study. Randomly selected urban and nonurban teachers and principals (4 groups, N=180) throughout the state participated in the survey. Findings indicate that this state testing program has substantial impact on educational practices in Kentucky public schools, specifically on: (1) the selection of instructional objectives; (2) subject matters; (3) instructional content and strategies; (4) curriculum planning; (5) focus of learning content; (6) adoption of classroom testing approaches; (7) students' learning effort; (8) the content of teacher inservice training; and (9) teachers' and principals' work lives. The responses of the two teacher groups were correlated to each other, and so were those of the two principal groups. The findings also suggest that under the present statewide educational reform movement, a trend is forming for educational practices in Kentucky public schools. Educators in Kentucky are working hard to align their practices to the challenges related to state testing. An appendix contains the survey questionnaire. (Contains 3 tables and 40 references.) (Author/SLD)

An experimental project was implemented to test the effectiveness of full inclusion of students with learning and behavioral disorders at a rural middle school within the Appalachian region of Kentucky. Thirteen students with behavioral disorders or learning disabilities were placed in four regular classrooms for 3 months. Five teachers participated in the project and received training prior to the project. Adapted curriculum and instructional procedures, and classroom behavior management strategies were applied. Routine collaborative activities were organized during the process. It was found that students with behavioral disorders or severe learning disabilities could not benefit academically and behaviorally from the full inclusion service provided in the project, and the learning of students without disabilities was affected because instructional plans could not be accomplished. However, full inclusion appears to be appropriate for students with mild learning disabilities. This study addresses a basic issue: the necessity for schools to provide quality educational services to students with and without disabilities in inclusion practice. Contains 39 references. (Author/TD)