Abstract
Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the study was to ascertain significant differences in parental responses to questions regarding their level of awareness of rights and their level of satisfaction with their student's special program compared with the manner of notification of parental rights. Other variables compared with parental understanding of their rights and satisfaction with special programs were: the severity of the student's disability, the length of time the student had received regular program. The relationship between awareness of parental rights and satisfaction with special programs was tested. Methodology. A mail survey questionnaire was sent to all parents of special education students in the participating districts. Fourteen districts and two county offices in the California counties of Placer and Nevada had agreed to participate in the study. Participation was voluntary among districts that conducted special education programs in the two counties. Responses to the survey had information regarding the student's special education placement, the manner in which parents had been notified of their rights, the parents' level of awareness of their legal rights, and the parents' level of satisfaction with their student's special program. The data were treated with the t-test for independent samples to determine differences among pairs at the .05 level of significance. A 54 percent return was received from the 806 questionnaires. Results. The results indicated a high level of awareness of their rights among parents of special education students. There was not a significant difference in understanding parental rights between parents who had received only a written notification of parental rights and those who had received a personal explanation of their rights. The one variable that showed a significant difference in awareness of parental rights was the student's amount of integration in the regular program. Parents of students who had little or no integration in the regular program were more aware of their rights than parents of students who were with non-disabled students for one or more periods a day. Response to the survey questionnaire indicated a high level of parental satisfaction with their student's special program. Parents who had received notification of their rights through a personal explanation were more satisfied than parents who had received a written notification of legal rights. Parents whose students had been in special education for three years or less were more satisfied than those whose students had been in a special program for over three years. Parents whose students spent one or more periods a day in the regular program were more satisfied than parents whose students had little or no integration with children in the regular program. A test of correlation did not show a significant relationship between the understanding of parental rights and parental satisfaction with their student's special program. This study showed, however, that parents of special education students may have a high awareness of their rights and at the same time indicate high satisfaction with their student's special program. Conclusions. It may be concluded from this study that a personal, face-to-face discussion of parental rights could be important in maximizing parental satisfaction with special programs. This study did not support the importance of a personal explanation over a written notification of rights when compared with special education parents' awareness of their rights. It may be concluded that a high level of parental awareness of their rights does not diminish parental satisfaction with special programs. The results indicated that the integration of handicapped students with non-handicapped students seems important in maintaining parental satisfaction with special programs.