What is education which is inclusive?

Education which is inclusive involves placement in the home school and in the general education environments(s) with appropriate supports, aid(e)s, and curricular adaptations designed individually for each student eligible for special education services. This educational practice most closely follows the wording and intent of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 97) requiring each public agency to insure,

...that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who do not have a disability, and special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environments occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. (Section 612 20 USC 1412 (a) (5) (A) )

Another term for education which is inclusive is supported education, meaning one educational system for all students. Successful schools regard all students as rightful members of the school they would attend, and the class(es) in which they would participate if they did not have disabilities. Each student is provided instructional curricula to meet their individual needs and learning styles.

Experience tells us that where inclusive education is successful there are no prerequisites for participation. Standards vary with each child and all educational staff share responsibility.

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Who are the students involved in education which is inclusive?

Students with moderate and severe disabilities with whom education which is inclusive started are often-times referred to as "inclusion students" in the "inclusion classroom." While the IDEA requires districts to label students in order to receive funds, we are increasingly seeing school districts restructuring to, on a yearly basis, look at the needs of the entire student population. Increasingly, districts are moving away from referring to the "inclusion program" and the "inclusion students." We are also seeing groups of teachers taking responsibility for groups of students with all learning styles and labels at a particular grade-level. Special education teachers are represented on each of these grade level teams.

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What is IDEA?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 is commonly abbreviated IDEA 97. IDEA 97 is the law that requires education of all children with disabilities. Before IDEA 97, on November 19, 1975 Public Law 94-142 was enacted. PL 94-142 was also called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. This was the first major law to mandate a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities, the right to be educated in the least restrictive environment and hold local education agencies accountable for providing services.

PL 94-142 was reauthorized in 1990 and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The most recent reauthorization was in 1997 therefore we refer to the law as IDEA 97.

IDEA 97 has four parts:
Part A: General Provisions, Definitions and other Issues
Part B: Assistance for education of All Children with Disabilities
Part C: Infants & Toddlers with Disabilities
Part D: National Activities to Improve education of Children with Disabilities

Advocates for inclusive education generally refer to Part A and B where the terms and concepts related to least restrictive environment, free and appropriate education, and supports and services are written.

Federal and State regulations have been developed to clarify implementation of IDEA. The federal regulations are available at www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/regs.html and the Illinois regulations are available at www.isbe.state.il.us/spec-ed/rules®s/index.html.

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What is the ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act, enacted on July 26, 1990, is sweeping civil-rights legislation that forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental disabilities. Its primary emphasis is on enabling persons with disabilities to enter the job market and remain employed (Title I). However, this law also forbids discrimination and physical barriers in Public Services (Title II), Public Accommodations (Title III), Telecommunications (Title IV), and Miscellaneous - prohibiting retaliation, coercing or threatening of persons attempting to aid people with disabilities in asserting their rights under this law (Title V).

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What is the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)?

This term appears in the language of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) formerly known as The Education of All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142). This term, known as LRE, applies to the placement of special education eligible students in the educational environment which least restricts their interactions with students not identified as eligible. For most students, this would be an age-appropriate classroom in the school (s)he would attend if not identified as eligible for special education. Moving to a more restrictive placement can only be done where there is documentation that the student's needs cannot be met in the general education classroom with necessary aids and supports.

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What is Project CHOICES?

Project CHOICES (Children Have Opportunities in Inclusive Community Environments and Schools) assists school districts and communities in developing and expanding inclusive options for children and youth with disabilities. Project CHOICES provides technical assistance upon request from school districts about inclusion. Services include inservice training, observations, consultations, facilitating meetings, sharing resources, as well as other activities upon request. Project CHOICES is free to school districts, it is supported entirely with federal discretionary funds under Part B of IDEA. The IDEA money is provided through a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education.

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What is mainstreaming?

Mainstreaming was a term popularized after the passage of PL 94-142 which has been generally used to describe the process of placing a student with mild to moderate disabilities into one or more general education academic classes. Students who are mainstreamed are usually expected to meet the same standards as non-identified students with minor modifications in curriculum or methodology. Prerequisite skills are generally felt to be necessary since the same standards for success are being applied for all students. This delivery model identifies the child as a "special" rather than a "general" education student. This practice has not typically been associated with students who are identified as having severe disabilities.

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What is integration?

Integration involves placement out of a special education environment for part of the school day. Integration is utilized most frequently with students who have labels of moderate and severe disabilities, because, typically, students have not been associated with mainstreaming efforts.

If done for academic purposes, the practice has been that the student must generally meet certain prerequisites before s/he is felt to be appropriate for integration and the general education curriculum. If done for social purposes, the student does not necessarily meet the same standards as required of other students. While the student may receive necessary assistance and support when integrated, a problem often occurs when the student's case manager is a special education teacher for a self-contained classroom who must remain there with the other students. This delivery model identifies the child as a "special" rather than a "regular" "general" education student. This practice has not typically been associated with students who are identified as having mild disabilities.

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What is the home school?

The home school is the school the child or youth would attend if s/he did not have a disability, that is, the same school that brothers, sisters, neighbors and friends attend. For preschool-aged children with disabilities, the home school is the community daycare, preschool, or other community environment the child would attend if s/he did not have a disability.

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What is the home school in an urban area where there are magnet schools and racial desegregation orders?

In this instance, the home school definition applies. The child or youth would attend the school s/he would attend if s/he did not have a disability. Therefore, if the parents choose a magnet school and/or if students are assigned to certain schools away from their neighborhood because of racial desegregation efforts, this would be the home school for the child or youth with a disability.

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What is a cluster program?

A cluster program involves the identification of a specific school and classroom for students with a specific disability label. When cluster programs are utilized, most or all of the students do not attend their home school and students are frequently transported long distances away from their homes.

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What is an age-appropriate placement?

An age-appropriate placement refers to the general education classroom for students who are the same chronological age. For preschool-aged children, age-appropriate placements are the settings in which other children of their same chronological age attend.

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What are homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings?

Homogeneous groupings refers to the practice of arranging instructional groups of children and youth based on an identified label. This practice is utilized in general education when children and youth are placed in "tracks" such as "basic," "average" and "accelerated." In special education, homogeneous groups are frequently formed based on disability labels. The premise behind the use of homogeneous groupings is that children and youth who are perceived to experience the same difficulties with learning should be taught together.

Heterogeneous groupings refers to a practice of arranging instructional groups to ensure that children and youth of diverse abilities are represented in each classroom and/or activity. The premise behind the use of heterogeneous groups is that children and youth of various abilities, talents and gifts benefit from learning together, by teaching and learning from one another.

The drawbacks of tracking (or ability/homogeneous grouping) have been well documented (Dawson, 1987; Gamoran, 1992; Pool & Page, 1995; Oakes & Wells, 1996;). This research clearly indicates that homogeneous grouping and tracking promotes inequity, elitism, and classism; shows evidence of harmful effects for all but the most academically talented students and does not result in an overall increase in achievement. The advantages of heterogeneous groupings have also been well studied and documented (Wheelock, 1992; Pool & Page, 1995; Oakes, Wells, Yonezawa & Ray, 1997; Kennedy, Shukla & Fryxell, 1997). This research overwhelming finds that heterogeneous student grouping practices have distinct instructional advantages, avoid the pedagogical, moral and ethical problems associated with tracking, and allow for substantial social benefits and self-esteem A 1997 study by Logan, Bakeman and Keefe also showed that students with disabilities were almost twice as engaged in heterogeneous settings compared to a homogeneous self-contained settings.

In the early 1990s, the Illinois School Psychologists Association conducted a review of the literature and research on inclusive practices. In their Manual for Best Practices on Inclusion (1994), they state: "Summary of research on ability grouping concludes that there is little evidence that ability grouping or tracking improves academic achievement, and much evidence that it retards the academic progress of students in low and middle ability groupings. Students in low ability classes and special education pull-out programs were found to have lower self-esteem than students in high-ability groups or low-achieving students educated in heterogeneous groups." In 1995, Pool and Page summarize the outcomes of homogeneous groupings or tracking as: "…promotes 'dumbed-down,' skill-drill, ditto-driven, application-deficient curricula. It contributes to the destruction of student dreams and the production of low student self-esteem."

Project CHOICES' experience working with students and teachers in Illinois has shown that grouping students with disabilities homogeneously places limits on their capacities to grow and learn. Teachers and parents across the state have frequently reported when students with disabilities are educated in heterogeneous general education classrooms their IEP goals and objectives were met more consistently; they had more social interaction with classmates, and they had larger and more durable peer networks.

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What does natural proportion mean?

The proportion of all people with disability labels in the general population is about 13% to 15%. People with the most severe disabilities represent less than 1% of the general population. When students with disability labels attend their home school, there is generally a natural proportion represented. School buildings should consider the natural proportion when assigning students to classrooms. Classrooms which consider the natural proportion will not have more than 15% of its members who have disability labels and no more than one of these students will have a label of severe disabilities.

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What are supplementary services?

"Supplementary aids and services," as defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 97) at 20 U.S.C. 1401 (29), are supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable a student to achieve educational benefit in the general education environment. Supports are the accommodations made for students with disability labels in order to increase their independence and participation in general education classes. Past experiences of successful classrooms show that supports in an education that is inclusive can be as simple as changing the student's seating assignment to accommodate a vision, hearing, motor or attention need. The supports can also be as complex as an electronic augmentative communication system with trained paraprofessionals available to assist a student in all classes.

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) process assists the team members to determine supports by identifying each individual student's needs. After the needs are identified, the possibilities for supports are seldom an exhaustive list. Carbon paper for a fellow student to take notes, special equipment and furniture, peer tutors (buddies), assistive technology, adapted curriculum, adapted tests and materials, individual assistants, certified staff consultants, or textbooks on audiotapes are but a few. Being creative is the key to generating, developing and implementing supports for a student's success and benefit in the educational system.

Sometimes it is difficult to separate "student supports" from "eacher supports" because most high technology or additional trained personnel, adaptations to curriculum or materials, and consultation or team teaching by staff with certain expertise, though written as specific aid(e)s for a student, inherently support and assist the teacher in providing instruction. IDEA 97 at 20 U.S.C. 1414 (d) (1) (A) (iii), requires the students IEP to include not only a statement of supplementary aids and services provided to the child, as well as a statement of program modification or supports for school personnel.

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What is Flexible Service Delivery?

Flexible Service Delivery (FSD) is using all existing compensatory services and staff more flexibly as intervention resources in a cross disciplinary service model. The purpose of FSD is to increase local school district capacity to meet the needs of a diverse population in the general education environment. Beginning in fall, 1998 the ISBE has piloted FSD in a limited number of districts. The results are a decrease in special education referrals and placements, grade retentions and disciplinary referrals, and improved student achievement, student attendance and teacher perceptions of school climate. The FSD Pilot Project goals include determining feasibility of expanding FSD options statewide. IDEA 97 regulations at Section 300.235 (a)(1) allows funds for "special education and related serves provided in a regular class or other education-related to a child with a disability in accordance with the IEP of the child, even if one or more nondisabled children benefit for such serves." IDEA 97 regulations Section 300.234(a) says

"An LEA may us funds received under Part B of the Act for any fiscal year to carry out a schoolwide program under section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, except that the amount used in any schoolwide program may not exceed-

1. (i) The amount received by the LEA under Part B for that fiscal year divided by
   (ii)The number of children with disabilities in the jurisdiction of the LEA; and multiplied by
2. The number of children with disabilities participating in the schoolwide
   program"

These regulations allow for FSD to occur. FSD encourages services to be delivered in the general education classroom and therefore can be a support to inclusive practices.

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What is a paraeducator?

Schools have many non-certified staff to support the education of the students enrolled. Paraeducator is the term used to describe non-certified staff that support student learning. Paraeducators are employed to assist and be directed by certified staff. The role is known by different terms in different schools such as aid, teacher assistant, support teacher, and paraprofessional. The prefix "para" comes from the Greek meaning "alongside." When we look at other professions like the legal (paralegal) and the medical field (paramedic), the term paraeducator seems natural. This also helps to give one standard name to the role and helps to professionalize this very important role.

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