The Madison Plan as an Alternative to Special Class Placement: An Interview with Frank Hewett

Abstract

In a recent telephone survey of 57 researchers conducted by the CEC Informa- tion Center, behavior modification and alternatives to traditional disability grouping and special class placement were identified as current, vital issues in the field of special education. The work of Dr. Frank Hewett was cited numerous times in connection with these topic areas, specifically in the context of his development of the Madison Plan. The Madison Plan, now operating in the Santa Monica public schools, is being funded by the California State Department of Education through the ESEA Title VI program. Dr. Hewett developed this project with Dr. Frank Taylor, Director of Special Services of the Santa Monica Unified School District, Dr. Alfred A. Artuso, Super- intendent of the Santa Monica Unified School District, and Dr. Herbert Quay, Chairman of the Division of Educational Psychology, Temple University.

Dr. Hewett is an associate professor of education and psychiatry, and chairman of the program of special education at UCLA. He has also served as head of the Neuropsychiatric Institute School for severely disturbed adolescents and children since 1960.