Inclusion

Early Efforts: 1970s–1980s

In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94–142) was signed into law, guaranteeing a free, appropriate public education for all children, including those with disabilities. Prior to the passage of this law mandating that schools serve all children, the traditional placement for a student with physical or mental disabilities was a self-contained program run by an agency such as the Easter Seals Foundation, with minimal involvement in educational opportunities.

Public Law 94–142 resulted in children with disabilities being allowed to come to school, but how and where they were educated was not specified. In the late 1970s and early 1980s most students with special needs were often served in separate classrooms along with other students with disabilities. Several movements and initiatives were created, mostly by parents who were unhappy with this separation. One was the campaign for mainstreaming, including the students with disabilities in the general education classrooms for meaningful interactions and education. While this was initiated in several school systems, mainstreaming was generally based on the students' ability to do the work in the classroom; if not, they were mainstreamed only for “specials”—art, music, physical education, lunch, recess, and so forth. Other instruction remained in a special education setting with peers having similar educational needs.

The regular education initiative (REI) was a movement in the 1980s that called for all children with mild to moderate disabilities to be educated totally within the general education classroom. Collaboration between special and general education teachers, special services within the general education classroom, and assistance for all students with learning problems, not just those with identified special needs, were the provisions of the REI movement. Inclusion of students with mild to moderate special needs in the general education classrooms was considered to be the best educational placement for everyone. This resulted in some schools moving away from the continuum of services (the general education classroom being the most inclusive, with options for more restrictive settings including resource rooms, self-contained classrooms, special schools, home or hospital setting) and the removal of special education classrooms from the schools. Those practices led to controversy over the ability of all students to receive a quality education in the general education setting.

Full inclusion was initiated by professionals working with students with severe disabilities, also in the mid-1980s. This was a model for serving children with disabilities and other special needs entirely within the general education classroom, despite the level of their needs. Full inclusion resulted in controversy over the ability of the students to participate, the level of education being delivered, and whether students were truly included. Often, during the required general education lessons, the children were placed in a corner or the back of the room with an aide who worked with them throughout the day with minimal involvement with the general education students, teachers, or curriculum.

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