Inclusive Practices

Special Education is a service, not a place.

Through the implementation of inclusive practices, supplementary aids and services needed to access the general education curriculum are brought to the child, instead of the child going to the services.

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) supports inclusive practices by requiring that "to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children that are non-disabled; and that special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily." (IDEA, 1997)

Least Restrictive Environment
Inclusion is not something that has to be earned by the student. The least restrictive environment rule establishes a preference for educating students with disabilities in general education classes. Consideration of the regular class must be the starting place for any decision-making about the placement of any special education student. Adaptations and modifications to the general education curriculum and activities are provided to insure the student is receiving instruction appropriate to his needs.

The term, "full inclusion" is used by some to mean the inclusion of every student with a disability in a regular classroom, throughout the school day, without exception. Although it may be appropriate for some students to remain in regular education all day, such an absolutist approach would limit educational options for others. Educators are required to provide more than a one size fits all placement option. In order to ensure that all needs are met, a continuum of placements that vary in their restrictiveness is required. Pennsylvania provides a full continuum of placements that are designed to provide a rich supply of diverse programs that support sound inclusive practices.

Membership
Inherent in inclusive practices is the concept of belonging or membership within the general education classroom. It differs from the past practice of mainstreaming where the child needed to demonstrate a readiness to be educated in general education settings by obtaining a predetermined academic or behavioral level of functioning. Inclusive practices embrace ALL students, regardless of cognitive or academic level and with no prerequisite skills necessary.

Impact
Although adherence to a high level of academic standards is imperative, inclusive education asserts that "Whether students' needs have been met is reflected not only by whether they have attained certain objectives, but by the impact that educational experiences have had on their lives." (Giangreco, 1994). The quality of life of an individual with a disability and his acceptance and participation in the community in which he resides are as important (indeed, some would debate, more important) as academic growth.

LRE Monitoring
Included in the Gaskin Settlement is the use of a focused monitoring tool to gauge school districts and their LRE practices. Districts are ranked in order from 1 to 501 based on their reported LRE data that represents the amount of time students with disabilities spend in general education settings. In total, 250 school districts will be identified. Twenty school districts demonstrating high discrepencies from the state averages in this area are selected each year for focused compliance monitoring. This is called a Tier 1 status. The next thirty school districts are identified as Tier 2 and receive a letter of warning from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The subsequent 200 school districts are identified as Tier 3 and receive a letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The school districts are identified in December of each school year and monitoring takes place in the spring.