Translating the Least Restrictive Environment Mandate of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Into Practice: Interrogating Inclusion on the Ground

• In Event: Interrogating the Notion of Inclusive Education Through Research, Policy, and Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Objective

The term “inclusion” implies that there is also a legitimate use for exclusion (Kozleski, 2020). LRE has been translated into inclusive education, but its implementation remains fraught because of the lack of educator preparation and knowledge about teaching all students, the shrinking special educator workforce, and the lack of sophisticated, multidisciplinary teaching teams. Further, the historic organization of schools into separate classrooms, organized by age and grade, i.e., the grammar of schooling (Tyack & Tobin, 1994) as the structure, complicates personalized and individualized education. As understanding about neurodiverse populations increases, more and more families are pressing their local school systems to open the doors of their typical classrooms and design educational opportunities for all students. Newer approaches to school organizations such as tiered systems of support, schools within schools attempt to redesign school structures but have yet not been adopted widely. Applied research focuses on interventions that require precise instruction that does not account for delivery in general education classrooms. More research is needed to ensure that school systems, schools, and classrooms are designed for the full range of human capacity.
The purpose of this paper was to understand: (a) how LRE was translated into inclusion on the ground by teachers, parents, administrators, and related service providers; (b) key barriers that practicing school professionals faced in translating LRE into inclusion as practices on the ground; (c) the ways in which the grammar of schooling can be disrupted to increase more equitable classrooms.

Theoretical framework

The study used cultural historical activity (Sannino & Engeström, 2018) and street level bureaucracy (Lipskey, 1980, 2010) theories to examine relationships between professionals that drive inclusive practices within the classroom.

Methods

Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with school professionals including teachers, administrators, and related service providers as well as five interviews with parent/families. The study also collected data on the race, identities, and demographic information from the participants.

Results

The study found that 60% of the participants in the school professional category did not read or understand LRE. Parents were driven by what school professionals knew. No research on inclusion was disseminated by the district. Finally, most school professionals and parents relied on district and their own hearsay knowledge to practice inclusion. Inclusion mattered less to parents from minoritized communities.

Scholarly Significance

The study is significant as it provides an understanding of how LRE as a key feature of IDEA is practiced on the ground. It also offers policy makers and teacher educators with experiences and vignettes to strengthen teacher education programs.

Author

• Suman Rath, University of Memphis
  Presenting Author