Inclusive Education
IDEA IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is a law ensuring services to children with special needs throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention services, special education and related services. IDEA begins with the statement: "Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities." Part C of IDEA refers to early intervention for babies and toddlers birth to 3 years of age. Part C discusses inclusion in terms of Natural Environments. Please visit Natural Environments for more information. Part B of IDEA refers to special education and related services for children and youth ages 3 to 22 years of age. Part B defines inclusion in terms of Least Restrictive Environments (LRE) for inclusive education.
Inclusive education provides for all students, regardless of their disability, to be educated in age appropriate general education classes in their neighborhood schools with supports for both students and educators to ensure meaningful participation within the larger school community.
IDEA states: "To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily." Special Education ContinuumThe continuum of special education supports is often demonstrated as a pyramid to show the least restrictive environment beginning in the typical classroom and filtering down into the most restrictive environment possible. In practice, the least restrictive environment should always be considered first, slowly making way into more restrictive environments only as needed and returning to least restrictive whenever possible.
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