Formal Written Agreements on
Disabilities Services with
Local Education Agency (LEA)
|
|
# Grantees and Delegate Agencies |
# LEAs Serving Children in the Head Start Service Area |
Formal Written Agreement on Disabilities Services with LEAs |
|
Alabama |
31 |
132 |
115 (87%) |
|
Florida |
63 |
173 |
84 (49%) |
|
Georgia |
38 |
187 |
163 (87%) |
|
Kentucky |
46 |
183 |
183 (100%) |
|
Mississippi |
21 |
130 |
123 (95%) |
|
North Carolina |
49 |
117 |
110 (94%) |
|
South Carolina |
15 |
75 |
62 (83%) |
|
Tennessee |
26 |
131 |
131 (100%) |
|
Region IV |
289 |
1,128 |
971 (86%) |
(%) = Number of Formal Written Agreements out of Total LEAs in Head Start Service Area
| The 1986 passage of Public Law
99-457 amended the Education of the Handicapped Act (now called
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - IDEA) by
extending P.L. 94-142 services to the preschool population. This
legislation also increased the specific requirements for services to
families of young children with developmental delays and other
disabilities. The law requires that the local public schools provide a
free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children age three and
older with disabilities.
Head Start's commitment to parent involvement, its emphasis on a developmental approach to individualized services, and its extensive services to children with professionally diagnosed disabilities in a "mainstream" or inclusive setting establish Head Start as a primary resource for services to this population. IDEA stresses the importance of interagency collaboration which maximizes the uses of existing resources for children with disabilities and their families. Head Start's history of commitment to comprehensive family involvement continues to provide an opportunity for Head Start leadership in the implementation of IDEA. All Head Start agencies are required to contact their Local Education Agencies (LEA's) to develop plans for interagency collaboration which identify Head Start as a resource in meeting the provisions of IDEA for the 3 to 5 year old population. Head Start regulations provide specific requirements for writing LEA agreements. Last year 86% of the LEA's in Head Start service areas were covered by a written agreement with their local Head Start program. Tennessee and Kentucky led the region with 100%. In each of the eight states in Region IV, there is a formal agreement between the state education agency (SEA) and the state's Head Start grantees. These state agreements often provide a model for local agreements. Head Start has established rich resources of materials and strategies for interagency collaboration and an impressive level of comprehensive family involvement. All of these components of outstanding services to children with disabilities need to become a part of an effective awareness campaign which assures Head Start's active role in the implementation of IDEA. Furthermore, the Region IV network has placed a high priority on the effective transition of children with disabilities into a public school placement which meets all of the requirements of IDEA. This thrust for a positive transition presents another critical need for an increase in collaboration between Head Start and the Local Education Agency (LEA). |
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