Hard LRE Choices in the Era of Inclusion: Rights and Their Implications

Abstract

Rights of students are often misunderstood. Civil rights of minorities granted by the U.S. Supreme Court are confused with human rights of individuals with disabilities granted by the U.S. Congress. Federal law applying to education of individuals with disabilities requires that difficult decisions be made by families and schools regarding how to provide four different and interrelated provisions of Public Law 94-142 of 1975 (now the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 or IDEA): (a) a free appropriate public education (FAPE), (b) an Individualized Education Program (IEP), (c) placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE), and (d) a full continuum of alternative placements (CAP). Special attention is given to LRE because the full inclusion movement and other influences related to a portion of disability studies have made it the central issue in special education. Under the law, three hard-to-answer questions must be asked in all cases involving special education: (a) What is an appropriate special education for a particular student with a disability? (b) What is the LRE in which that most appropriate education can occur for that individual student? (c) What is the CAP related to that individualized appropriate education?

Adventures in Naming EBD Realities: How Words Matter for Special Education

“…Educators are then urged to treat all forms of diversity similarly in schools (e.g., see Stainback & Stainback, 1991; Slee, 2018, 2019; SWIFT Schools, 2023). This is said to be justifiable, although addressing a particular diversity may require that those considered diverse in a particular way be treated differently, not treated the same as others who are not diverse in the same way (Harden, 2021; Kauffman, Burke, & Anastasiou, 2022). However, such differences in treatment are assumed by some to be acceptable only if such special treatment occurs in a general educational environment, not in any separate place.…”

Creeping Normality: Special Education’s Problem of a New Normal

“…Court decisions and federal laws are often confused, and their intentions and meanings are often misinterpreted. As a result, people have confused the civil rights and educational requirements that have been addressed by courts and legislatures (Kauffman et al, 2022).…”

Imagining and Reimagining the Future of Special and Inclusive Education

“…Careful legal and conceptual analyses indicate that equating Brown and IDEA is a "red herring" argument that has mislead many [52]. Moreover, the conceptualization of differences and the intent of the legal issues involved in in Brown and IDEA are completely different.…”