Part II of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) & Special Education Programs: Placement in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Special education inclusion for students with disabilities must include educational placement in the least restrictive learning environment, which may include mainstream inclusion for many students.
Students with disabilities are provided program options that are mandated in state education codes and coupled with federal funding for accountability. For example in Washington state, the state code (WAC.392-172A-02035) for program options states that “Each school district shall ensure that its students eligible for special education have available to them the variety of educational programs and services available to non-disabled students in the school district’s area, including art, music, industrial arts, consumer and homemaking education, and vocational education.” (Washington State School Codes, 2008).
The bottom line of
inclusion for students with disabilities is that placement in the least restrictive environment must include access to mainstream course offerings. What’s good enough for mainstream students is good enough for students in special education is the essence of the state code for special education programs. Placement expectations that lawmakers have provided for Washington school students include mainstream classes for students who have no indicators of behavioral concerns or risks. For students who need to be removed from the mainstream environment, lawmakers have stressed that services and resources must be provided in other educational settings that might include self-contained classrooms with Instructional Assistants.
The student’s IEP (Individualized Education Program) drives placement in the school community. Students are evaluated for placement according to extent of disability, behavioral concerns, learning skills’ assessment, and age-appropriateness of placement. If students are placed in nonacademic settings because of the severity of the IEP results, student needs for services and resources must be the driver for responsible placement that will grow a student academically and behaviorally.
Read Part III of Special Education & IDEA: Education of Students With Disabilities in the 21st Century