Inclusion In Special Education

Inclusion is the concept of including learning, intellectually, and developmentally disabled students in the general education classroom for as many hours of the day as possible. The idea of inclusion was originally created by the Public Law (P.L.) 94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children Act) in 1975. This law provided that handicapped children and adults ages 3-21 be educated in the "least restrictive environment" to the maximum extent appropriate. This means that handicapped students have the right to an equal education and they are to be taught in a classroom with students that are not disabled as much as possible, unless their disability is so severe that they cannot succeed in a regular classroom. P.L. 94-142, was seceded by

A classroom can use full inclusion, partial inclusion, full integration, or partial integration. Full inclusion is the ability for all special education students to get all of the services they need within a general education classroom at their neighborhood schools. Full integration is when special education students are served over ninety percent in general education classes, but they are clustered in a school that is not necessarily their neighborhood school. Partial integration means disabled students are clustered into one school and are mainly severed in special education classrooms, but are integrated into the general education classroom for at least twenty-five percent of the day for academic and nonacademic subjects (Janney and Snell 160). Partial inclusion is when handicapped students are served as many hours of the day as possible in general education classes within their neighborhood school. These definitions are older, but still hold true. Most schools now days, however, typically participate in full inclusion or partial inclusion. Not very often are handicapped students clustered in particular schools. Most every school is equipped for special education needs. More specifically, there are several methods and practices a teacher or teachers can use in classrooms. For example, whole group instruction, small groups, stations or centers, paired learning, parallel instruction, and one-on-one with a

Most classes also have a paraprofessional. Research provides that, although both assistance and co-teaching are successful, when the special education teacher is in a classroom full-time and he or she and the general education teacher work together and co-teach, “levels of engagement of all students [are] considerably higher” (Born, Lee, Morningstar, and Shogren 202). All students need a relationship with their teacher(s) to function to their highest potential in a class. It creates a constant distraction and leaves the children less likely to know and respect the special education teacher when he or she is constantly moving from classroom to classroom. A reaction of less respect can also found with a para because they are interacting mainly with just the handicapped student(s), so the other students may not feel the need to respect them as much as their teacher(s). The problem could also be that the para is using the behavioral interventions ineffectively (Born, Lee, Morningstar, and Shogren