PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Least Restrictive Environment
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)mandate within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) specifies that students with disabilities should be educated to the maximum extent appropriate with their peers who do not have disabilities. (Yell, 2016)
Champagne (1993) defined restrictiveness as "a guage of the degree of opportunity a person has for the proximity to, and communication with, the ordinary flow of persons in our society" (p. 5), (Yell, 2016)
The General Education Classroom: Least Restrictive Environment
The general education is considered to be the LRE because the student has the greatest opportunity to be in close proximity and communicate with the ordinary flow of students in the school.
The two parts of the LRE requirement of IDEA are: 1.) schools must make a good faith effort to ensure students with disabilities are being educated in the same environment as their peers who do not have disabilities and 2.) the IDEA also requires that state education agencies (SEAs) ensure that the LRE requirement is extended to all students in public schools, private schools and other care facilities. The LRE mandate also requires that schools use supplementary aids and services as a means of maintaining a student in less restrictive settings. The presumptive right may be rebutted if the placement of a student in the general education setting is not appropriate for the child.
What setting will my child be placed in?
- In some instances an education in the general education setting is not appropriate
- An alternative placement is determined by the IEP team for the student based upon the specific needs of the student
- A continuum of alternative placements are available to meet the needs of the students this continuum includes; instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction and instruction in hospitals and institutions.
- Provisions must be made for supplementary services
- In determining placement for the student with disabilities, the IEP team balances FAPE with the preference of educating students with disabilities with their peers in the general education setting. (Yell, 2016)
- The LRE is determined by the IEP team and is considered case by case.
Where will my disabled child attend school?
- Students with disabilities should be educated in the school they would attend if they were not in special education. This placement is considered to be their "neighborhood school"
- If a student cannot be placed in the neighborhood school, placement must be as close to home as possible
- Placement in the neighborhood school is not an absolute right.
- This principle is also extended to Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Nonacademic Programming
- IDEA and Section 504 extend requirements to nonacademic settings.
- Areas to consider are extra curricular services, meals, recess, counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities and clubs/organizations sponsored by the school
The LRE mandate of the IDEA has been subject to numerous debates. Several court decisions have established precidents in the interpretation of the law.
Ronker Portability Test
- Can the educational services that make a segregated placement superior be feasibly provided in an unsegregated setting?
- Of so, the placement in the segregated setting is inappropriate. (Yell, 2016)
Daniel Two-Part Test
- Can educationinthe general education classroom with supplmentary aids and services be achieved satisfactorily?
- If a student is placed in a more restrictive setting, is the student integrated to the maximum extend appropriate? (Yell, 2016)
Rachel H. Four-Factor Test
- The educational benefits of he general education classroom with supplementary aids and services as compared with the educatioinal benefits of the special classroom
- The nonacademic benefits of interaction with students without disabilities
- The effect of the student's presence on the teacher and on other students in the classroom
- The cost of mainstreaming (Yell, 2016)
Will my disabled child and his/her peers be educated in a safe environement?
Distruptive behavior that significantly impairs the education of other students strongly suggests a mainstream placement is no longer appropriate. While school officials have a statutory duty ot ensure that disabled students receive an appropriate education, they are not required to sit on their hands when a disabled student's behavioral problems prevent him and those around hime from learning. (Yell, 2016)
The court has developed the Devries/Hartman Three-Factor Test to dermined when mainstreaming is not required.
Devries/Hartmann Three-Factor Test
- The court has developed the Devries/Hartman Three-Factor Test to dermined when mainstreaming is not required:
- A student with a disability would not receive educational benefit from mainstreaming in a general education class.
- Any marginal benefit from mainstreaming would be significantly outweighed by benefits that could feasibly be obtained only in a seperate instructional setting.
- The student is a disruptive force in the general education classroom.