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SECTION ICONTEXT/ ENVIRONMENTALFACTORS
Modules
1.School Reform and Students with Disabilities: TheChanging Context of Classrooms2.Poverty AmongChildren: The Impact on Special Education3.The Costs of Special Education4.Problems Facing Education:Substance Abuseand Violence5.Disproportionate Representation:Can This Civil Rights Concern Be Addressed by Educators?
Archived Information
 
SCHOOL REFORM AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF CLASSROOMS
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This module reports on work conducted by the Center for Policy Research on the
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Impact of General and Special Education Reform, one of several research centersfunded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
School Reform and Studentswith Disabilities: The ChangingContext of Classrooms
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Educational reforms are being implemented in schoolsacross America, changing the overall context in whichclassrooms function as well as the expectations forteachers and students. These reforms are increasinglyinfluencing how special education programs are definedand how students with disabilities are being educated. Asmany of these students continue to receive most if not allof their education within general education classrooms,they, like their nondisabled peers, must respond tosignificant changes in the ways schools define teaching andlearning. At the same time, many State and local policiesare changing to promote closer alignment of special andgeneral education, particularly in the areas of standardsand assessments.The general education reforms of the past 15 years havefocused on six major policy areas: standards development,assessment, accountability, governance, teachers, andfinance (Goertz & Friedman, 1996). During this sameperiod, special education programs have been changing asa result of efforts to promote inclusion of students withdisabilities in general education classrooms, to decreaseinappropriate identification of students as disabled (partic-ularly cultural- or language-minority children), and toimprove the postschool results of all students receivingspecial education services. As the general and specialeducation reform efforts come together in schools, theymust be defined, negotiated, and adapted to ensure thatevery student receives the highest quality education andthat each student with a disability who is eligible underIDEA has access to an individualized educational program
 
SECTION I. CONTEXT/ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
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OSEP defines a regular class placement as one in which students with disabilities
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receive special education services and related services outside the regular class forless than 20 percent of the school day.
(IEP), including any necessary supports and services. Thismodule discusses general education reform in standardsdevelopment and assessment, governance, and teacherpolicy and how those reforms have affected special educa-tion. It will not discuss finance or accountability.
The Importance of Understanding GeneralEducation Reforms
Understanding the intents and features of current educa-tional reform initiatives is important for a number of rea-sons. First, special education programs operate within thecontext of the larger educational system and can beaffected by the reforms taking place in the larger system.Second, the number of students with disabilities who arecurrently educated in regular classroom placements (45percent) has greatly increased. Ensuring that those stu-
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dents have meaningful access to the curriculum andinstruction provided in general education classroomsrequires a sound knowledge of the practices in those class-rooms and the policies that are shaping those practices.Finally, students with disabilities need a broad and bal-anced set of experiences that are grounded in high expecta-tions and that can help them achieve their potential--andthis is one of the goals of educational reform for all stu-dents. But any policies influenced by reforms must alsoinclude provisions ensuring the right of students withdisabilities to a free appropriate public education that isindividually tailored to their needs.This section discusses general education reforms as theyhave occurred in the following areas:
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standards and assessments, which are the descrip-tions of knowledge and skills that students areexpected to learn and the means by which studentmastery of these is measured;
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