Campus Access Only
All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of University of the Pacific. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.
Date of Award
1998
Document Type
Dissertation - Pacific Access Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department
Educational Administration and Leadership
First Advisor
Dennis Brennan
First Committee Member
Steve Davis
Second Committee Member
Phyllis Hensley
Third Committee Member
Vincent Madden
Fourth Committee Member
Mari Irvin
Abstract
This dissertation examines the prevalence rates of students with disabilities in grades kindergarten through twelve in the 115 special education local plan areas (SELPAs) in the state of California. California moved to a new, population-based funding model in 1998, assuming that the prevalence of students with disabilities requiring special education is equitably distributed. Special education services and funds will flow through the agencies known as SELPAs based on 10% of the SELPAs' total student population. No prior study was undertaken to validate the assumption of equitable distribution of students with disabilities in California by their SELPA of residence. This study attempted to provide data and examine the prevalence of students identified as needing special education based on their SELPA of residence as a basis for accurate statewide policy development. This study examined the total number of special education students as well as the number of special education students in each of the 13 disabling categories as a percentage of the total student population in each of 115 SELPAs in California to determine if such students were equitably distributed. Descriptive statistics for each disability and the total number of special education students in the SELPAs are provided. This study also examined four factors of the SELPAs which contributed to differences in prevalence rates. These factors are: percentages of low-income students; percentages of limited-English proficient students; percentages of students from ethnic minorities; and geographic location (rural, suburban, urban). Data from this study showed that special education students as a percentage of the total seudent population are not equitably distributed; the distributions for each of the disabling categories are quite different; and the various characteristics ofthe SELPAs are correlated with the prevalence rates of the disabilities in a variety of ways.
Pages
159
ISBN
9780591913583 , 0591913585
Recommended Citation
Conrado, Catherine. (1998). An examination of the prevalence rates of students with disabilities between special education local plan areas as a basis for policy development. University of the Pacific, Dissertation - Pacific Access Restricted. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2576
To access this thesis/dissertation you must have a valid pacific.edu email address and log-in to Scholarly Commons.
Find in PacificSearch Find in ProQuestIf you are the author and would like to grant permission to make your work openly accessible, please email
Rights Statement
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
