Legal Issues in Education the Essay

" Mainstreaming entails allowing a disabled student to be integrated into the classroom with other non-disabled children and be able to learn amongst nondisabled chidren as well. In 1991, the U.S. Court of Appeals described the purpose and end goals of the mainstreaming or inclusion policy that comprises the LRE- "Under the Act, mainstreaming is a policy to be pursued so long as it is consistent with the Act's primary goal of providing disabled students with an appropriate education" and that "where necessary for educational reasons, mainstreaming assumes a subordinate role in formulating an educational program" (Wright and Wright, 2009). The purpose of inclusion was so that school and school districts would not segregate handicapped students from other non-disabled students.

The continuum of alternative replacements is something that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that school districts have "a range or continuum of alternative placements options to meet" the disabled students needs, including a "continuum [that] represents an entire spectrum of placements where a student's special education program can be implemented" (Yell 2006). Further regulations required that each continuum must "include the alternative placements i.e. instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions); and make provision for supplementary services (such as resource room or itinerant instruction) to be provided in conjunction with regular class placement" (Yell, 2006). Ultimately, the "purpose of the continuum is to allow school personnel to choose from a number of options in determining the LRE most appropriate for the student" (Yell, 2006).

Ultimately, it is the IEP teams determine the students placement along the continuum "that is the least restrictive setting in which a student will receive appropriate education"- the scholar goes on to redefine "restrictiveness, for the purposes of the continuum, by proximity to the general education classroom," noting that "education in the least restrictive setting (i.e., the general education classroom) is the preferred option so long as it is consistent with an appropriate education" (Yell, 2006).

Bibliography

Links, Bo. (2010, February 01). Fape litigation under idea statute: who is a prevailing party?. Retrieved from http://slotelaw.com/articles/fape-litigation-under-idea-statute-who-prevailing-party

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, Initials. (2010, September). Idea -- the individuals with disabilities education act. Retrieved from http://nichcy.org/laws/idea

Philadelphia Mental Retardation Services, Initials. (2005, July 25). Individuals with disabilities education act idea. Retrieved from http://www.mycitymyplace.com/idea.htm

U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, Initials. (2010, August). Free appropriate public education for students with disabilities: requirements under section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html

Wright, Pete, & Wright, Pamela. (2009, January 02). Least restrictive environment (lre) & fape. Retrieved from http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/idea.lre.fape.htm

Yell, M.L. (2006). The law and special education (Website), Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/mainstreaming-inclusion/?page=3