Celebrating Special Education Inclusion and the Forgotten Children
Author: Kathleen M. Cleaver
Published: 2024/03/13 - Updated: 2026/02/22
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Blogs - Stories - Related Publications
Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This information offers a firsthand perspective on special education inclusion from Kathleen M. Cleaver, a teacher with 30 years of experience educating children with disabilities, including those with visual impairments, intellectual disabilities and concomitant conditions. Cleaver holds a Bachelor's degree in elementary education and education of children with visual impairments, and was recognized with the Penn-Del AER Elinor Long Award and the AER Membership Award for her contributions to the field. Drawing on her experience as a sibling of a person with disabilities, a parent and a classroom teacher across residential, resource room, home school and inclusive settings, she traces the history of special education from the passage of PL94-142 in 1975 through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and makes the case that while inclusion benefits many students, full inclusion is not appropriate for all. For parents, educators, school administrators and disability advocates, this piece raises an important and often overlooked concern about children whose needs - whether due to severe intellectual impairment, behavioral challenges, deafness or blindness - are better served through a continuum of specialized placements rather than a one-size-fits-all approach - Disabled World (DW).
- Topic Definition: Special Education Inclusion
Special education inclusion is the practice of educating children with disabilities alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms, with appropriate supports, accommodations and modifications provided to ensure meaningful access to the curriculum. The legal foundation for inclusion in the United States rests on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, originally enacted in 1975 as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which guarantees every child with a disability the right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The least restrictive environment is not a fixed setting but a standard that must be determined individually for each student through the Individualized Education Program process, and the full continuum of placement options ranges from complete integration in a general education classroom to resource rooms, self-contained special education classrooms, specialized schools and residential settings depending on the nature and severity of the child's disability.
Introduction
The Law
On November 29, 1975 President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All (EHA) Handicapped Children Act (PL94-142) into law giving children with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). PL 94-142 also contained a provision that disabled students should be placed in the least restrictive environment-one that allowed the maximum possible opportunity to interact with non-impaired students.
Before PL94-142 was passed many children with disabilities, especially those with concomitant disabilities, were either excluded or experienced limited access to the education system. My sister, who was born with concomitant disabilities, was one of those children who was denied FAPE. In 1990 EHA was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) thus removing the word handicapped from the law. IDEA was reauthorized in 2004.
Main Content
A Brief History
With the passage of EHA, public schools opened their doors to children with disabilities. Resource rooms and special education classrooms were created and were staffed by teachers with special education degrees. Children with intellectual, sensory, and physical disabilities enrolled in public schools. Children with intellectual impairments were classified as educable, trainable, or severely, and profoundly impaired (SPI) and placed accordingly.
Before special EHC, children who had normal IQs but had difficulty learning struggled in the regular classroom and were often labeled as under-achievers. English language (ELL) learners were lost in regular education classrooms.
Today, under IDEA children with disabilities have the right to be educated in the least restrictive environment (LEA) Individual Education Plans (IEPs) give teachers, parents, school administrators, related service personnel and students (when appropriate) the opportunity to to work together to improve the educational results of a child with a disability (US Department of Education). Educational placements range form a separate special education school to full inclusion in a general education classroom
A Personal View
I have witnessed the growth and changes in special education as a sibling, a parent and a teacher. I taught in a residential setting, a special education school, a resource room, home school and in an inclusive setting. I have read the accolades for inclusion and the criticism of special education classrooms. IDEA does not use the word inclusion. LRE is different for every child. Children change. LRE is not stagnant. It is not a special education or general general education classroom. It is an environment that addresses the accommodations and modifications for a child at the present time.
The Forgotten Children
As with any new idea or innovation in education, it is often viewed as the panacea to fix our education system. While I believe that special education inclusion is beneficial for some students, full inclusion is not a panacea for all students. I have read stories and watched videos about children with autism, learning differences, and down syndrome making progress in the general education curriculum. That is fantastic! But what about the children whose intellectual impairment is so severe, that even with modifications, the general education curriculum has no meaning for them?
What about the blind child who benefits from intense braille instruction and adaptive technology in a resource room with a teacher certified to teach children who are visually impaired (TVI) before moving to a general education classroom?
What about the child who is deaf and uses sign language to communicate and wants to be with his deaf peers?
What about the child whose behavior, even with interventions, disrupts the classroom?
I know these children.
I taught these children.
While a special education classroom is not an appropriate placement for all children who have IEPs, it is a panacea for children who need a small group setting with a full time special education teacher. Full inclusion for all disabilities can be as harmful as a special education classroom for all disabilities.
A continuum of special education services is imperative to plan an appropriate education for all children! The LRE is different for each child because each child is different.
Let us recognize and celebrate all children!
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The push toward full inclusion in education has produced real gains for many children with disabilities, but Kathleen Cleaver's essay asks a question that too few people in the conversation are willing to raise - what happens to the children for whom the general education classroom, even with modifications, is not the right environment? These are the students she calls the forgotten children, and they include kids with severe intellectual impairments for whom the standard curriculum holds no practical meaning, blind children who need intensive braille instruction before they can function in a mainstream setting, and deaf students who communicate through sign language and benefit from time with their peers. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act itself does not mandate full inclusion but rather the least restrictive environment, a standard that by definition must vary from child to child. When inclusion becomes an ideology applied uniformly rather than a tool applied thoughtfully, the children who fall outside its reach risk being underserved in the name of a principle that was never meant to erase the need for specialized instruction - and that reality deserves far more attention than it currently receives - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Kathleen M. Cleaver holds a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and the education of children whose primary disability is a visual impairment (TVI). During her thirty-year career as a teacher, Kathleen received the Penn-Del AER Elinor Long Award and the AER Membership Award for her service and contributions to the education of children with visual impairments. She also received the Elizabeth Nolan O’Donnell Achievement Award for years of dedicated service to St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments. Explore Kathleen's complete biography for comprehensive insights into her background, expertise, and accomplishments.