Inclusive Supports and Services for Students with Disabilities
The Model:
Inclusion is the time the student is in the general education classroom setting. The exact percent of time is noted on Part VIII in the student’s IEP.
Providing an inclusive education can occur in the following ways:
- Solely by the general education teacher in the general education classroom with the student’s specially designed instruction including accommodations and modifications identified in the student’s IEP,
- By push in support into the general education classroom setting provided by the special education teacher,
- Through a co-teaching model, by which there is both a general and special educator in the general education classroom for all or part of the time,
- By pull out support where a student remains in the general education classroom environment for core instruction and then is pulled out for intervention/remediation/re-teaching time,
- By providing students, with and without disabilities, opportunities to receive interventions together in a “Learning Center” where there are similar areas of need,
- And/or by providing paraprofessional support in the general education classroom.
It must be stated that inclusion does not always necessitate an additional support person. The specific educational needs of each and every child are discussed at the child’s IEP Team meeting. The child’s IEP then best determines the educational setting that would work best for that student.
Additionally, as noted above, co-teaching is just one of the ways in which inclusion occurs within our district; it is not the only way. Co-teaching is a supportive educational arrangement where the expertise of the general and special education teaching staff converge in one classroom setting to benefit the educational needs of all students within that environment. It involves the dedication and collaborative efforts of both professionals to plan, prepare, and teach all of the students in their classroom setting. Determining if this is the best educational placement for any child does reside with the entire IEP Team.
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