Abstract
The initial purpose of the program was to determine whether severely mentally retarded children could profit from public school experiences. A second purpose was to discover the cost of maintaining day classes for these children in comparison to the cost of care in an institution and to compare the less tangible values to both parents and children. This thesis will describe and evaluate the educational activities and experiences that were planned for a class for these children in Sacramento County during the initial year 1950-1951. The writer intends also to identify those activities which in her judgment have continued through the years to be appropriate for severely retarded children.