Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
School Beat: Reaching Special Education Ideals is Still Far Off
Google the expression “special education is a service, not a place” and you will come up with many references from special educators, disability advocates, parents and school administrators nationwide. In a perfect world, this slogan would describe reality. But as a parent and an advocate for effective education programs for all children, it seems to me that we still have a long way to go.
Full Inclusion’s History and Benefits
Currently, my child attends a San Francisco elementary school where she receives services allowing her to participate as a full member of a general education classroom, an educational program known as full inclusion.
Full inclusion grew out of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), which was first passed in 1975. IDEA guarantees the right of students with disabilities to receive a “free, appropriate public education” in what it calls “the least restrictive environment” (LRE). Subsequent court cases have defined LRE as the general education classroom at the school the student would have attended if not disabled.
Once the courts mandated a transition to LRE for all students with disabilities, school districts began trying to figure out how to educate these students in their existing programs. In 1994, San Francisco public schools began transitioning to full inclusion for students with disabilities. Eventually, district policy decreed, every school in San Francisco would comply with the LRE requirement by welcoming students with disabilities in general education.
This was not just another educational fad. In 1995, the National Longitudinal Study of Special Education Students found that those students who were removed from general education were more likely to drop out and to be dependent on public assistance in their post-high school years. These students were less likely to be living independently, and more likely to have criminal records. Sadly, scholars and advocates agree that the findings of this decade-old study are still current.
Exposure to the expectations of the general curriculum encourages students to achieve, even as they are receiving supports and modifications to assist them. There are many anecdotes about people who at one time were assumed to be ineducable but who eventually found the inner resources and community support to build independence and fulfillment in their lives. Segregation creates a cycle of lowered expectations and failure. The theory behind inclusion is that it sets higher expectations while supporting students to succeed at the level appropriate for them.
Read More
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3328#more
Currently, my child attends a San Francisco elementary school where she receives services allowing her to participate as a full member of a general education classroom, an educational program known as full inclusion.
Full inclusion grew out of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), which was first passed in 1975. IDEA guarantees the right of students with disabilities to receive a “free, appropriate public education” in what it calls “the least restrictive environment” (LRE). Subsequent court cases have defined LRE as the general education classroom at the school the student would have attended if not disabled.
Once the courts mandated a transition to LRE for all students with disabilities, school districts began trying to figure out how to educate these students in their existing programs. In 1994, San Francisco public schools began transitioning to full inclusion for students with disabilities. Eventually, district policy decreed, every school in San Francisco would comply with the LRE requirement by welcoming students with disabilities in general education.
This was not just another educational fad. In 1995, the National Longitudinal Study of Special Education Students found that those students who were removed from general education were more likely to drop out and to be dependent on public assistance in their post-high school years. These students were less likely to be living independently, and more likely to have criminal records. Sadly, scholars and advocates agree that the findings of this decade-old study are still current.
Exposure to the expectations of the general curriculum encourages students to achieve, even as they are receiving supports and modifications to assist them. There are many anecdotes about people who at one time were assumed to be ineducable but who eventually found the inner resources and community support to build independence and fulfillment in their lives. Segregation creates a cycle of lowered expectations and failure. The theory behind inclusion is that it sets higher expectations while supporting students to succeed at the level appropriate for them.
Read More
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3328#more
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$230.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network