Personnel Preparation and Service Delivery Issues in Rural Areas: The State of the Art:

Abstract Preparation of high quality personnel to provide educational services to students with disabilities living in rural areas is, at best, challenging. Findings from a comprehensive study concerning the status of the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in rural settings and the issues such implementation presents to teacher education programs in these areas are discussed. Members of the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) participated in the study. Results indicated that strategies for enhancing personnel preparation, recruitment, and retention of individuals to institutions of higher education and K-12 schools in rural settings include distance learning, on-site professional development opportunities, salary incentives/increments, and benefits. Linking evaluation data to the general education curriculum and determining how the student's disabilities affect his/her progress in general education are issues for practitioners implementing IDEA in rural settings. Recommendations are provided for enhancing personnel preparation and service delivery based on the results. Delivering quality educational programming in rural settings always has posed particular challenges to students, their families, and service providers. Providing appropriate special education and related services to students with disabilities in these settings is compounded by many variables. Economic and social difficulties, such as lack of financial resources to support educational services because of low wages and poverty, make service delivery issues particularly problematic in rural areas (Duncan, 1999; Stern, 1994; U.S. General Accounting Office, 1994). In addition, geographic barriers such as mountains, lack of paved highways, and large distances between cities and towns create challenges in providing services to students with disabilities (Dewees, 1999). Low numbers of students with disabilities in small schools, as well as difficulties recruiting and retaining special educators, intensify the difficulties of ensuring that students with disabilities receive quality special education and related services (Collins, 1999; Mullins, Morris, & Reinoehl, 1997; Westling & Whitten, 1996). These difficulties, as well as lack of adequate facilities and available technology, also make implementing a comprehensive personnel preparation program in rural areas difficult to achieve (Dewees, 1999; Howley & Barker, 1997; U.S. General Accounting Office, 1996). Since 19% of schools and 9% of students in the United States are located in rural areas (U.S. Department of Education, 2000), it is critical that teacher preparation programs focus on the needs of rural practitioners (Collins, 1999; Education Commission of the States, 1999). Service Delivery Issues The IDEA of 1997 reiterates the mandate that students with disabilities receive their education with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1997). Each year, the percentage of students with disabilities in general education settings increases. For example, as indicated by the 21st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, during die 1996-97 school year, more than 95% of students with disabilities, ages 6 though 21, received a portion of their education in general education settings. Students with disabilities in rural settings are more likely to receive their instruction in general education settings than their counterparts in urban or suburban settings (Sack, 2000; U.S. Department of Education, 1996). There are many reasons for these differences. Small schools, fewer students with disabilities, and lack of resources, including qualified teachers are but a few. These issues limit the ability of many rural schools to offer the array of service delivery models that are available in suburban or urban settings (American Association of School Administrators, 1999; Stern, 1994). …