Impact of the Education of the Handicapped Act on Adapted Physical Education: A 10-Year Overview

In the 10 years since the enactment of the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) (1975), special education has grown substantially. Physical education, although cited within the definition of special education, has not grown to the same degree relative to number of teachers trained and children served. Financial assistance from the federal government helped develop adapted physical education programs but it has not been adequate to meet the needs. Several areas of concern are identified and recommendations are made for possible implementation of the physical education mandate of the EHA.