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The article reports on the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Policy Statements approved by the Delegate Assembly in the U.S. The Organization and Administration for Special Education policy statement is prepared by the CEC Policies Commission and is originally derived from a paper by Ernest Willenberg. Such statements suggest some of the major principles on which a special education administrative organization should be based. Special education shares with regular education the basic responsibility of public educational systems to fulfill their right to education for every child.

The article focuses on the proposed policy statements by the Council for Exceptional Children on the organization and administration of special education in the U.S. It informs that the statements were developed from a paper by Ernest Willenberg, in collaboration with Evelyn Deno, Paul Voelker, Paul Mckinnon and Willard Abraham. The statements were first published in the February 1971 issue of "Exceptional Children." The article outlines the major policies on which a special education administrative organization should be based.

This paper reviews several programs for children with special needs, from historical perspectives, current involvements, and one particular orientation, called the ‘child development model.’ With respect to programs based on the child development model, it is recommended that each state consider planning toward the eventual organization of a child development agency, responsible for all children with special needs, irrespective of their characteristics, educational attainments, and prognoses. Further, it is recommended that, to the degree programs encourage and support the maintenance of children in community environments, they should be rewarded in both specific and general ways; and for purposes of better guaranteeing human rights and due process, citizen advisory and other advocacy groups should be organized throughout a state and given such support as would be needed to make these groups active and responsive grass roots partners in policy and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passage of legislation concerning the development of adequate educational programs for the gifted and handicapped children has been supported by The Council for Exceptional Children acting in unison with various organizations. This paper presents (a) a brief review of CEC's past efforts to improve federal legislative provisions; (b) organizational policy statements that were adopted in order to increase CEC's effectiveness as an instrument for the encouragement of legislation for handicapped children; and (c) a look into the future of special education based on current trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two recent amendments to The National Defense Education Act of 1958 enlarged its scope to include the education of exceptional children. The new Title XI allows colleges and universities to plan institutes in critical subjects for teachers of exceptional children. The amended Title ill provides for instructional materials to be used for all school children, including the exceptional. This paper briefly presents the Titles' provisions and indicates those who would be eligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]