U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Bureau of Adult and Vocational Education 2. A Summary of Major Points in Developing Programs for Persons with 1. The range of ability, intelligence, creativity and potential among the youth and adults who are academically, socioeconomically or otherwise handicapped can be compared favorably with those who are considered able to take advantage and benefit from the regular vocational programs. Vocational education, in cooperation with all educational disciplines, must make available the supplemental education required to bring these students to the level of achievement required where they can benefit from the occupational course offerings. Concern for and attention to the needs and desires of each student will produce results affecting motivation and achievement. 3. Course offerings must meet the demands of employment opportunities. The variety of occupational curriculums should be wide enough so as to encourage the broadest range of interests and abilities. They should be designed and scheduled for persons of varying educational backgrounds, interests, and aptitudes at locations and within time sequences which are mutually convenient. 4. An atmosphere should be created wherein parents recognize that participation in the career planning of their children is essential to the sucess of whatever efforts are expended. Creating the climate of acceptance and partnership between the family and the school is extremely difficult, yet most rewarding. The value of Vocational Education, both for their children and for themselves, can be best expressed when the parents are encouraged to avail themselves of courses which the vocational educators set up to meet their needs. 5. The total community must be involved in the education and occupational training programs along with the vocational educators. Job opportunities, personnel, equipment, training experiences, advisory committees, support for school funds, social services, medical and welfare personnel, and the student body to be reached make up the total program for making vocational education a service to all people of all ages in all communities. 6. To assure adequate supervision, each State should consider assigning a supervisor of programs for the disadvantaged on a full-time basis as its initial move in programming for the handicapped. September 1965 Characteristics of Persons with Special Needs Persons with special needs are those who have academic, socioeconomic, or other handicaps that prevent them from succeeding in the regular vocational education program. They include those youth and adults who themselves have one or more of the following characteristics or who live in communities or come from families where there are a preponderance of these characteristics: low income poor educational background and preparation poor health and nutrition family heads are semi-skilled or unskilled excessive unemployment ethnic groups which have been discriminated against or have isolated from cultural, educational and/or employment emotional and psychological problems which are not serious enough to require constant attention or institutionalization lack motivation for obtaining an education or acquiring a job dependent on social services to meet their basic needs lack the political power or community cohesiveness to articulate and effectuate their needs have physical disabilities or mental retardation For purposes of this program activity, those persons are not included among the groups vocational education should be serving who are so physically handicapped or mentally retarded that they require intensive diagnostic and corrective attention from the medical, psychological or psychiatric professions and cannot benefit from occupational education, PROVISIONS OF THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1963 Section 1 - Declaration of Purpose ".... to maintain, extend, and improve existing programs of vocational education, to develop new programs of vocational education . . . . so that persons of all ages in all communities of the State . . will have ready access to vocational training or retraining which is of high quality, which is realistic in the light of actual or anticipated opportunities for gainful employment, and which is suited to their needs, interests, and ability to benefit from such training." Section 4(a) A State may use its allotment in accordance with its approved plan for any or all of the following purposes: (4) "Vocational education for persons who have academic, socioeconomic, or other handicaps that prevent them from succeeding in the regular vocational education program," (5) "Construction of area vocational education school facilities." (6) "Ancillary services and activities to assure quality in all vocational education programs, such as teacher training and supervision, program evaluation, special demonstration and experimental programs, development of instructional materials, and State administration and leadership, including periodic evaluation of State and local vocational education programs and services in light of information regarding current and projected manpower needs and job opportunities." Section 4(c) - 10% of the sums appropriated shall be used by the Commissioner to make grants to colleges and universities, other public or nonprofit private agencies and institutions, to State Boards and local educational agencies to pay part of the cost of research and training programs and of experimental, developmental, or pilot programs developed and designed "to meet the special vocational education needs of youth, particularly youths in economically depressed communities who have academic, socioeconomic, or other handicaps that prevent them from succeeding in the regular vocational education programs." Section 13. Work-Study Programs for Vocational Education Students Funds can be allotted to students between 15 and 21 years of age who are regularly enrolled in vocational high schools to compensate them for work for public agencies if they are having financial difficulty in remaining in school. They may earn up to $350 in any academic year, or up to $500 if they are not within reasonable commuting distance to the school. Section 14. Residential Vocational Education Schools Demonstration funds may be granted for the construction, equipment and operation of residential schools to provide vocational education for youth between 15 and 21 years of age who need fulltime study on a residential basis to benefit fully from such education. Special consideration is to be given to the needs of large urban areas having substantial numbers of youth who have dropped out or are unemployed. |