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Inclusive Classroom and Least Restrictive Environment

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Inclusive Classroom and Least Restrictive Environment

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By law, students are entitled to a free and appropriate education (FAPE) and should be placed in the least restrictive environment (LRE). In other words, education alongside peers without disabilities to the most appropriate extent as possible.

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Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

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Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

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Research shows that managing behaviors and support activities take up more than half of the time in school instead of instruction.

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Overview of Emotional Behavioral Disorders

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Above: Example of school specializing in behavioral interventions

Alternative programs provide more intensive support for students whose behavior is affecting their learning. There has been an increase in the number of these programs and the number of students in the programs has increased from 130,000 in 1990 to almost 550,000 in 2014.

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Centennial School is a special education school that provides individualized services in a safe, nurturing, supportive, and affirming environment. Within the context of current research-based strategies, Centennial School aims to help students achieve to the best of their abilities, the skills necessary for success in traditional school environments and the community at large.

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Students with emotional and behavioral disorders benefit from highly structured environments that uses positive reinforcement systems of support. (i.e. PBIS)

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Afacan et al. investigated outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in regular education classrooms versus alternative education settings. They found that students in alternative educational settings had poorer outcomes but that there were many different factors that could contribute to these results. Lack of quality education and poverty were discussed as major issues with the effectiveness of alternative schools.

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Gersib & Mason (2023) completed a meta-analysis on effective strategies for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. While their focus was different from Afacan et al, they found similar results in that efficacy depended on the the quality of teaching and resources provided to implement the strategies.

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While there needs to be more research on long term outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in alternative educational settings versus inclusive regular education classrooms, there are some key takeaways from the research.

1. Quality instruction is key- if teachers do not have adequate training/qualifications to manage behavioral challenges it affects all students involved.

2. We need to re-think inclusion- Effective co-teaching could be a game changer for inclusive classrooms and supporting students with a variety of needs.

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Co-Teaching: Benefits, Beliefs and Basics