This article presents an overview of the legal status of special education in Israel. An examination of the Israeli Special Education Law of 1988, along with relevant Israeli legal precedents, basic laws, and recent judicial rulings, reveals a basic view of the nature of special education in Israel. Through a systematic examination of the legislative and judicial mandates, I draw specific inferences regarding the nature of parent participation in the educational process, the least restrictive environment (LRE), and the concept of due process in the public special education system in Israel. I argue that special education mandates in Israel do not guarantee education in the LRE and hence have promulgated a parallel placement system in which the special education bureaucratic system is empowered to act without parental input. I provide several specific suggestions to alleviate this problem; I further argue that these aspects of special education law and practice reflect more general aspects of Israeli life, aspects of the Israeli social structure that are changing as the state approaches its 50th birthday.

This article presents an overview of the legal status of special education in Israel. An examination of the Israeli Special Education Law of 1988, along with relevant Israeli legal precedents, basic laws, and recent judicial rulings, reveals a basic view of the nature of special education in Israel. Through a systematic examination of the legislative and judicial mandates, I draw specific inferences regarding the nature of parent participation in the educational process, the least restrictive environment (LRE), and the concept of due process in the public special education system in Israel. I argue that special education mandates in Israel do not guarantee education in the LRE and hence have promulgated a parallel placement system in which the special education bureaucratic system is empowered to act without parental input. I provide several specific suggestions to alleviate this problem; I further argue that these aspects of special education law and practice reflect more general aspects of Israeli life, aspects of the Israeli social structure that are changing as the state approaches its 50th birthday.

Discusses the importance of reforming social skills training theory for adults with mental retardation. Current practices in social skills training for persons with mental retardation are summarized along with potential reasons for their concomitant lack of maintenance and generalization of treatment gains. To better understand the process of social skills acquisition, the concept of social competence must be redefined. A cognitive-behavioral model of social competence and social skills is described. The model attempts to unify traditional social learning concepts with more recent advances in research and practice involving persons with cognitive deficits. ((c) 1997 APA/PsycINFO, all rights reserved)

(from the chapter) identified five topics that currently share preeminence in the vocational special education field / follow-up studies of disabled individuals / social support systems in the workplace / techniques to promote skill generalization in vocational contexts / social skill training at work sites / cognitive behavioral notion of self-management / chapter attempts to make a comprehensive review of the most critical issues in vocational special education / a number of syntheses of the current status of our data bases on the five topics are made / training methods supported by data are highlighted / needs and directions for future research are signaled