A Policy Study of P. L. 94–142

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Abstract
The study sought to determine the “level of consciousness” of selected regular and special educators for 50 competing educational policy statements. Fifty of the most frequently occurring policy items were selected, 20 arising as key concepts of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94–142), intermingled with 30 of the most pressing issues drawn from the current regular (general) and vocational education literature. A Q-sort procedure required 199 general and special education teachers and administrators to prioritize the general and special education policy items, sorting them according to their importance. A discriminant functions analysis disclosed that respondents could be correctly classified as special or regular educators with 68% accuracy (cross-validated) on the basis of their level of consciousness for 11 P.L. 94–142 policy items. Special education administrators demonstrated the highest level of consciousness, general education administrators the lowest, and teachers the middle range.