The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is one of the six elements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The practice, definition, and intention have been debated throughout its history. This study focuses on the elementary school educators' understanding and perspectives on how LRE affects how they support students with…

The purpose of this collective case study was to understand how special education teachers interpret and navigate the concept of the least restrictive environment (LRE) standard in providing educational support for students with intellectual disabilities and autism. The guiding theories for this study were behaviorism and social cognitive theory.…

The purpose of this interview-based qualitative study was to explore how individualized education program (IEP) team members determine least restrictive environment and educational placement. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires students with disabilities to be educated in the least restrictive environment and to the…

With this position paper, we advance the case for reformation of U.S. special education law and praxis. These have undergone mostly incremental changes over the five decades since their inception despite a substantial body of evidence amassed over this period, which points to a major gap between extant policy and praxis, and contemporary cultural…

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 students with disabilities are entitled to specially designed physical education in the least restrictive environment outlined in their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Adapted Physical Education (APE) is physical education designed to meet the needs of all children…

Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) intends parents to be equal members of the team that makes their child's Individual Education Plan (IEP), parents face barriers to participation, particularly exclusionary procedures, school structures, professional behaviors, and racial and cultural biases. Little wonder that some…

Social policies can be well-intentioned but ineffective in achieving what is intended. They can be undermined or destroyed by their exaggerated or oversimplified caricatures with a single, narrow focus. Caricatures may result in the opposite of the original intent of more carefully crafted variants. Institutionalization and deinstitutionalization…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing lessons that is grounded in data and recognized as best practice under IDEA and ESSA. The use of the method allows for greater intervention with students socially, emotionally, and academically. UDL allows intentional and purposeful work with populations that are normally…

In summary, the problem this qualitative interpretive descriptive study addressed was to investigate what elementary general education teachers see as the success of the implementation of inclusive instructional practices. Perception of the success of implementation of inclusive instructional practices can impact the fidelity of the implementation…

Access to general education preschool in California has varied for children with disabilities. One reason for the disparity of educational placement is the preschool regulations outlined in California Department of Education's Title 22: Community Care Licensing guidelines. These regulations, particularly in preschool, support or hinder preschool…

The purpose of this guidebook is to: (1) Assist Speech-Language Pathology service providers as they support the educational goals of eligible students with disabilities in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS); and (2) Ensure that all Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) operate with the…

This study explored visually impaired youths' perspectives toward feeling valued in integrated physical education. Situated in an experiential qualitative approach, this study utilized inclusion understood as an intersubjective experience broadly, and feeling valued specifically, as a conceptual lens to guide and inform methodological and data…

There has been an increase in the number of students with high functioning autism who are mainstreamed and would, therefore be entitled to mandated counseling services (AFIRM, 2019). On the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) website, there are several evidence-based interventions that are listed for students with autism. One of…

We acknowledge that some students with severe disabilities are not being taught in general education. We do not agree that inclusion in general education is inherently better, nor do we think it is always appropriate, and we provide some reasons that a full continuum of alternative placements is not only legally mandated but appropriate. We are…

Creating a fully inclusive educational environment continues to be a topic for educational reform. Children with disabilities have the right to access their education in the Least Restrictive Environment. In the United States, this right is protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004). Approximately 13.3% of the total number…