Inclusion

2 Pages 487 Words

Inclusion
Inclusive education means that all students in a school, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its 1997 amendments make it clear that schools have a duty to educate children with disabilities in general education classrooms.
The law adopted nearly a quarter-century ago guaranteed a free, appropriate education for all students with disabilities. From then on, schools began to experiment with "mainstreaming" by placing disabled students in the same classrooms and facilities as their nondisabled peers. Later, mainstreaming evolved into "inclusion," which holds that students not only should be placed in regular classrooms whenever possible but also that they should be engaged there, as well, in the same curriculum and activities as their classmates.
The most current language of the federal mandate concerning inclusive education comes from the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These federal regulations include rulings that guide the regulation. The IDEA requires that children with disabilities be educated in regular education classrooms unless "the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in the regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily." This means that schools have a duty to try to include students with disabilities in the regular general education classes.

Several recent studies have found that inclusion is more effective than either integration or mainstreaming. A seven month investigation in which a classroom of first graders viewed and interacted with a student with moderate disabilities who was mainstreamed only on a part-time basis revealed that the part-time student was considered an ...