Integration of Students with Disabilities into Schools

Students with disabilities have special needs when it comes to education. This lesson will discuss the speci cs of integrating special needs
students into mainstream classrooms, along with the controversies associated with doing so. We will end with a brief quiz to see what you
have learned.

What is a Disability?
Rory is a fourth grade student with a disability. A disability is a physical or mental issue that impairs normal function.
Rory's disability impairs her ability to focus in class, so she struggles to keep up with what the teacher is saying. Rory
frequently acts out in class and struggles to get along with her fellow students.

Prior to 1975, Rory probably would have been excluded, or removed, from the classroom, and her educational options
would have been severely limited. The Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) of 1975, which was later revised to
become The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990, mandated that special needs students are
entitled to receive a free and appropriate education. This led to the integration, or inclusion, of special needs students
into traditional classroom settings.

Integration: Full Inclusion

As stated before, IDEA and its predecessor, EHA, require schools to provide free and appropriate education to special
needs students like Rory. In other words, disabled students must receive the same opportunities as non-disabled students
when it comes to education.

These laws led to the practice of full inclusion in the education of special needs students. Full inclusion occurs when
disabled students are always placed in a regular or traditional classroom regardless of their individual needs. This means
that any extra help or attention that they require must take place in that classroom.

On the one hand, full inclusion is viewed as a positive step in the education of students with disabilities because they
receive the same educational and social opportunities that non-disabled students receive. However, on the ip side, full
inclusion creates somewhat of a dilemma for educators. How can Rory's unique educational needs be fully met in a
classroom of 35 students? Will Rory's impairments disrupt the other students' learning?

Integration: Mainstreaming
An o shoot of full inclusion is mainstreaming. Mainstreaming is the practice of placing students with disabilities in a
traditional classroom after they have demonstrated the ability to be successful there. Students who are selected for
mainstreaming usually begin in special education classes with other students with disabilities, and graduate to
mainstreaming once they have demonstrated some level of pro ciency. Mainstreaming may mean that the special
education student is in a traditional classroom all day or only for speci c subjects or times.

Arguments For and Against

There are some that believe that full inclusion and mainstreaming create a win-win situation for students and educators
alike. This argument touts: increases in self-esteem; academic achievement and social opportunities for disabled students;
an increase in understanding and compassion in the non-disabled students who are in class with them; and a
streamlining of the educational process for educators who have a decreased need to operate separate special-education
classrooms.

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Others feel that full inclusion and mainstreaming complicate the education of both disabled and traditional students. This
side of the argument is based on the notion that teachers are already spread too thin in a classroom with countless
students of varying abilities, and throwing a special needs student in the mix will dampen opportunity for everyone.
Opponents of full inclusion and mainstreaming believe that disabled students fare better in special-needs classrooms with
similar students.

Lesson Summary
Disabilities create special needs for education due to impairments in normal mental or physical function. Laws protect
the rights of disabled students to allow for free and appropriate education in schools. These laws have led schools toward
integration in the education of special needs students. Full inclusion always places disabled students in traditional
classrooms. Mainstreaming also places special needs students in a traditional classroom but only after some level of
success or pro ciency is achieved. Proponents for integration believe that educators and students bene t from blending
disabled students with non-disabled students in the classroom. Opponents nd aws with integration and believe that
disabled students should be educated in special needs classrooms.