Inclusion

Inclusion 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 inclusion, education, students, disabilities, regular, general, schools, integration, classrooms, support, student, mainstreaming, idea, federal, classroom, teachers, supplementary, studies, special, should, settings, school, same, possible, placing, placed, place, part-time, opportunities, means, instruction, individuals, include, either, effective, duty