Early childhood special education exit decisions: How are they made? How are they evaluated? Journal of the Division for Early Childhood

Policy issues for early childhood special education programs in the areas of exit decision-making and follow-up procedures were generated through extensive naturalistic case studies of four early childhood special education programs. Located in urban, suburban, and rural communities, the programs were selected to reflect a variety of approaches to early childhood special education programming. Guidelines for exit decision-making and follow-up procedures conclude the report. EMost early childhood special education programs were started in the past decade. The number and variety of programs con-tinues to grow as, in response to Public Law 99-457, many states extend their services to children age birth through 3 while continuing to serve 4- and 5-year-old children. The rapid expansion of early childhood special education has allowed little time to carry out analyses of issues related to assessment an