Students with significant disabilities continue to be among the most segregated in schools. In this article, we argue that the principles of least restrictive environment and involvement and progress in the general curriculum have been interpreted in ways that perpetuate segregation, rather than increasing students' access to meaningful curriculum in inclusive educational contexts. We examine this issue from three broad perspectives: federal policy related to least restrictive environment, interpretations of policies related to involvement and progress in the general curriculum, and the implementation of policies related to assessment of grade-level standards. We discuss implications of each of these issues for providing and increasing involvement and progress in general education contexts and content.

The least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has long been questioned as to whether it has fulfilled the original intent of the law. This advocacy brief provides an updated analysis of the flaws underlying the principle of LRE, a mandate that exists at the nexus of cultural beliefs about disability, the influence of the medical model on special education, and the misguided link between intensity of services and more restrictive environments. We review the origins of LRE; summarize research on the positive relationship between placement in general education and student outcomes; describe six flaws of LRE's grounding in the continuum model of educational placement that sanctions segregation; present data that illustrate little progress over time towards general education placement for students with intellectual disability, and outline some key court rulings about what constitutes the least restrictive environment. In summary, we suggest that segregation of students with intellectual disability results as much from the flawed underpinnings of the LRE principle itself as on the attitudes and practices of those who use LRE as a justification for segregation.

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The Beyond Access intervention shows promise for enhancing views of the competence of students with IDD to learn the GE curriculum and for increasing their inclusion in GE classrooms.

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