180 Day Barrier: Issues and Concerns

Abstract

Legal and educational issues related to year-round education for handicapped individuals are discussed. A review of legal developments supporting 12 month education and an historical exploration of the goals of compulsory schooling demonstrate the inherent conflict between providing a free appropriate education to all handicapped children and the existence of the 180 day rule. Additional arguments in support of year-round schooling are based on the concerns of parents and teachers, as well as the apparent methodological advantages to avoiding lengthy breaks in programing for the severely handicapped children. Finally, it is suggested that the concept of year-round schooling is not inconsistent with the goals of mainstreaming and the need of severely handicapped individuals to have the opportunity to generalize learned skills.