By typical definitions in the special education world, inclusion would not be recognizable as it exists at Memorial Elementary. Memorial is responding to a widely documented trend in public schools: over-representation of students of color, particularly Black and Brown students, in "high-incidence" special education categories, including…

As charter schools continue to attract lots of political and policy attention, research has emerged suggesting that these schools enroll fewer students with disabilities than public schools. Given that the success of the movement is based on charters being more effective than public schools as determined by test scores, it is not entirely…

Four years following the decimation of the New Orleans Public Schools by Hurricane Katrina the city has been described as the center of a unique urban public school reform effort. This effort is a combination of events that transpired just before the storm and those that have occurred as a result of it. In particular some claim that the emerging…

Solutions to educating special needs students are not found in exclusionary programs or curriculum categorizations but in the inclusion of all students and in providing the necessary support for them and their teachers. Meanwhile, special education "turf" issues must be resolved, and public apprehensions about mainstreaming as a cost-cutting…

This study examined actual implementation of inclusion as part of a district and university restructuring initiative. Participant observation and interviews did not find any movement of special education students to general education despite use of the term "inclusion." Two themes were seen to explain this failure to understand and implement…

Explores how school administrators can implement educational processes allowing full inclusion of students with disabilities into the general education program. Reviews literature on limitations of special education practices, arguments against, full inclusion, and rural communities' unique characteristics. Applies organizational behavior theories…

The recommendations of the National Association of State Boards of Education's Study Group on Special Education focus on: (1) creation of a new belief system and vision that includes all students; (2) encouragement of collaboration between general and special educators to better serve the diverse student population; and (3) breaking the link…

This study evaluated the special education program of the Hawaii State Department of Education including identification of those program concerns, issues, and problems which need policy or administrative changes or further study. Data collection included document review, onsite interviews with stakeholders, and a questionnaire survey of school…

The roles and responsibilities of the emerging position of "inclusion specialist" were studied through a review of the literature, analysis of job descriptions and other documents, classroom observations, and interviews with relevant personnel. The literature review briefly examines the historical background of special education reform…

This document presents findings from a 5-year study of the effect of the standards-based reform movement on students with disabilities. The study used pragmatic evaluation strategies that integrated both quantitative and qualitative collection methods of data and site visits to 10 high schools in six districts (including urban, rural, and suburban…

This report summarizes findings of a study to identify key factors of inclusive education practices, as identified by school districts implementing such practices. The study involved contacting chief state education officers for state-level information and identification of local school districts conducting inclusive education programs and then…

This report is the result of a year-long evaluation of special education in New York City (New York) and presents major recommendations for reorganizing general and special education. It proposes a school-based model with an integrated general/special education system, and use of an enrichment allocation from merged special and general education…