Precarious or Purposeful? Proactively Building Inclusive Special Education Service Delivery on Solid Ground

Abstract

The absence of unified and inclusive special education service delivery models represents a longstanding challenge to the education of students with the full range of disabilities in inclusive schools and classrooms. An exemplar model is offered for elementary schools within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. To establish its practicality and cost-neutrality, the development of the exemplar model was based on personnel utilization data from 69 schools. After building a case for the importance of proactively developing inclusive models of special education service delivery, this article describes: (a) the types and source of the data upon which the exemplar model is based, (b) a set of underlying assumptions, (c) school demographic parameters upon which the exemplar model is based, (d) a comparison of 13 key variables between their actual averages in sampled schools with their proposed status in the exemplar model, and (e) nine conceptual and programmatic shifts designed to accompany the structural changes presented in the exemplar model. The article concludes with implications for practice and future research. Overall, the exemplar model is offered as a starting point to spur discussion, creative problem solving, and action planning to explore model development suited to local contexts.

Moving Toward an Inclusive Education System: Lessons from the U.S. and Their Potential Application in the Czech Republic and Other Central and Eastern European Countries

“…Giangreco and colleagues (Giangreco, 2011;2003;Giangreco & Suter, 2015) have provided what we believe is one of the most comprehensive conceptualizations of IE that has been applied across multicultural contexts. The following, according to Giangreco and colleagues, are seven basic characteristics of truly IE environments:…”

Special Education Personnel Absences in Inclusion-Oriented Schools: Implications for Building Effective Service Delivery Models

“…Access to quality teachers and effective instruction is critical for students (Hattie, 2009), particularly students with disabilities (Billingsley, 2011). Similarly, research on inclusion-oriented schools has shown how schools can change their special education personnel utilization to provide better access to highly qualified teachers and support inclusive educational opportunities (Giangreco & Suter, 2015). These efforts are likely at risk when personnel are unexpectedly absent, and a growing body of research has shown connections between teacher absenteeism and student progress (Clotfelter et al, 2009; Ehrenberg et al, 1991; Herrmann & Rockoff, 2012; Miller et al, 2008).…”

“…A second line of research has explored strategies for improving special education service delivery in schools supporting inclusion for students with disabilities (Giangreco, Broer, & Suter, 2011; Giangreco, Doyle, & Suter, 2012; Giangreco, Suter, & Hurley, 2013; Suter & Giangreco, 2009). Such inclusion-oriented schools seek to provide appropriate educational opportunities and levels of support to students with the full range of disability characteristics in chronologically age-appropriate, general education classes those students would attend if they were not labeled disabled (Giangreco & Suter, 2015). In these studies, participating schools exceeded the national average for the percentage of students with disabilities placed in regular classrooms 80% of the time or more (64%; U.S.…”

Equity as a Basis for Inclusive Educational Systems Change

“…Giangreco and Suter (2015) offered a structural arrangement that more closely fits an equity-based frame for school organization. Emphasizing a whole school as the unit of analysis, they illustrated how a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) for all students can provide a driver for organizing available school personnel (i.e., teachers, therapists, administrators, paraprofessionals) in configurations through master scheduling that can enhance social and academic outcomes for all students including those with high support needs.…”