by requirements for the degree of (Education) - NCRTM

vocational schools, and vocational rehabilitation .agencies all have a
responsibility to provide for the education and training of older mentally
retarded students. The statutes do not place sole responsibility on any
one of these agencies; therefore, the inference is that it is the mutual
responsibility of all. Within the public school structure the junior and
senior levels of high school have a responsibility for providing a modified
or "special" Program for the educable adolescents possessing sufficient
intellectual ability, social maturity and motivation to strive for social
and economic competence in accordance with his or her abilities. For the
trainable student whose level of intelligence and adaptive behavior are
too low to benefit from a high school special education Program, separate
curricula and facilities are provided (Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction, 1967).
State laws have been passed which support local communities in their
efforts to provide special education services. The first legislative
provision for state support of special classes for the mentally retarded
was made in 1917. Since that time, expanded aids and reimbursements have
been legislated to encourage the establishment and expansion of special
classes and services. In 1939 the Bureau for Handicapped Children was
organized as part of the State Department of Public Instruction to inte-
grate all areas of services for handicapped children into one •agency. Then
in 1968 under the Kellett reorganization of state agencies it became the
Division for Handicapped Children's Services. General areas of responsi-
bility include: a) leadership and consultation, b) planning c) research
and evaluation, d) coordination, e) certification, f) public relations,
g) aids and reimbursements [Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction,
no
date).