The IDEA's Least Restrictive Environment Mandate: Legal Implications

1994 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan G. Osborne ◽  
Philip Dimattia
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Early Years ◽  
School Officials ◽  
New Era ◽  
Free Appropriate Public Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that students with disabilities are to be provided with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment (LRE). During the early years of the IDEA, the courts generally deferred to school officials on LRE matters and ruled in favor of more restrictive placements. In some recent cases, however, courts have taken a more activist stance. These decisions may signal a new era in LRE case law. Nineteen years after the passage of P.L. 94–142, the courts may be growing impatient with school officials for not providing less restrictive environments for students with disabilities.

The Foundation of Inclusion in Federal Legislation and Litigation

2017 ◽  
pp. 27-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Christine A. Christle
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Student Placement ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Federal Mandate ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Historical Antecedents

The foundation of inclusion in special education law is the least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This federal mandate requires that all students with disabilities receive their education with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Our purpose in this chapter is to examine the legal basis of inclusion. We first review the historical antecedents of inclusion. Second, we examine the LRE mandate and the student placement requirements of the IDEA. Third, we survey the most important case law rulings regarding LRE and the placement of students with disabilities. Fourth, we consider strategies that have been used to promote inclusive placements and briefly review the literature on these strategies. We end this chapter by offering principles to guide IEP team members in making educationally beneficial and legally correct placement decisions for students with disabilities.

Who Are the Classmates of Students With Disabilities in Elementary Mathematics Classrooms?

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison F. Gilmour ◽  
Gary T. Henry
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Mathematics Classrooms ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act stresses the importance of educating students with disabilities (SWDs) in the least restrictive environment, often with peers who do not have disabilities. Prior research has examined the extent to which SWDs are included in general education classrooms, but not the characteristics of the peers with whom SWDs are educated. We examined the math classmates of fourth- and fifth-grade SWDs from one state. On average, SWDs were grouped with twice as many other SWDs, about four per class, than students without disabilities. Students with learning disabilities had fewer peers with disabilities in their classrooms than students with other disabilities. Students with intellectual disabilities, autism, or emotional/behavioral disorders more often had peers with disabilities, often their same disability. Our results provide directions for future research regarding peer effects and understanding how schools group SWDs.

Under the Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-67
Author(s):  
Julie Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Regular Education ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Academic Progress ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Circuit Courts

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment, meaning the environment that is as close as possible to that of a regular education classroom. However, the nation’s various circuit courts have used different standards to determine whether a particular placement meets this requirement. Julie Underwood summarizes a recent Sixth Circuit case, L.H. v. Hamilton County Department of Education, in which the court ruled that it was inappropriate for a district to remove a child with Down syndrome from a regular classroom, where he was making academic progress but not achieving the grade-level standard.

Least Restrictive Environment and the Education of Children with Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Education Law ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Appropriate Education

This chapter discusses the obligation in the federal special education law to provide education to children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. It describes the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions and the prominent cases, and explores ongoing scholarly controversies about the least restrictive environment requirement and its application. The chapter observes that disputes over the least restrictive environment for a given child are often disputes over the range of accommodations and services that the schools must provide so that appropriate education of a child with disabilities may be achieved without separating the child from peers who do not have disabilities. Both the text and the judicial interpretations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act operate in such a way that the negative command to not segregate students with disabilities becomes a positive command to afford services to make inclusive education work. The chapter concludes by briefly comparing the developments in the United States with those in other countries.

A Qualitative Policy Study of the Least Restrictive Environment Provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

1994 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 491-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Brody Hasazi ◽  
A. P. Johnston ◽  
Annette M. Liggett ◽  
Richard A. Schattman
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Policy Study ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Policy Systems

A multistate, qualitative policy study, conducted from 1989 to 1992, investigated how 6 states and 12 local school districts implemented the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Eight sites were relatively high users of separate facilities for educating students with disabilities, and 10 were low users. Six factors, including financing and the state-local context, influenced the implementation of LRE. Although the LRE policy has influenced the way that states and districts educate students with disabilities, the federal law and regulations have little control over how leaders view the policy, the structure and political realities present, and the recursive nature of policy systems at all levels.

scholarly journals Status of Inclusive Educational Placement for Students With Extensive and Pervasive Support Needs

Inclusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Morningstar ◽  
Jennifer A. Kurth
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
General Education Curriculum ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment

Abstract Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 established procedural mandates and accountability requirements ensuring all students with disabilities participate and progress in general education curriculum. Broadly speaking, improvements toward greater access have been found for many students with disabilities; however, the extent to which this holds true for students with extensive and pervasive support needs is not evident. Past research associated with least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with extensive and pervasive support needs was considered when replicating previous research using the cumulative placement rate to analyze LRE data for students with extensive and pervasive support needs (autism, intellectual disability, deaf blindness, and multiple disabilities). Results indicate that student with extensive and pervasive support needs have substantially less positive LRE placement trends over the past 15 years with most placed in separate classrooms and settings. Recommendations for transforming federal and state policies and procedures are shared.

Perspectives on the Future of IDEA

1997 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Hardman ◽  
John McDonnell ◽  
Marshall Welch
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Individualized Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Restrictive Environment

Since its original passage in 1975 as Public Law 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been the cornerstone of practice in special education. This federal law has enabled all eligible students with disabilities to access a free and appropriate public education. During the past 2 years, the 104th Congress has debated vigorously some of the law's basic tenets (e.g., definition of disability, content of the individualized education plan [IEP], parental rights to attorneys, fees, discipline, and placement). The basic requirements of the law remain intact and continue to shape the scope and content of special education. This article addresses whether or not the assumptions upon which IDEA is based remain valid as we approach the 21st century. We critique these assumptions within the context of four requirements of IDEA: (a) eligibility and labeling, (b) free and appropriate public education, (c) the individualized education program (IEP), and (d) the least restrictive environment. Recommendations for changes in existing law relative to each of the above requirements are presented.

Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2017): The U.S. Supreme Court and Special Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. T. Prince ◽  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Antonis Katsiyannis
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School District ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Free Appropriate Public Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
The U.S

On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. This case addressed the question how much educational benefit are public schools required to provide to students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to confer a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The purpose of this legal update is to provide a brief overview of court developments regarding FAPE, summarize Endrew, and provide implications for practice.

scholarly journals Free Appropriate Public Education in the Time of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-192
Author(s):  
J. Matt Jameson ◽  
Sondra M. Stegenga ◽  
Joanna Ryan ◽  
Ambra Green
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Free Appropriate Public Education ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Education Act

In the spring of 2020, public schools across the United States were forced to close their campuses due to an emerging public health crisis caused by the detection of the first cases of the COVID-19 virus. Although schools closed their buildings, the delivery of educational services did not stop. This included the ongoing provision of services mandated by federal law under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which establish educational protections, processes, and rights for students with disabilities and their families to ensure educational equity. In this article, we describe the potential legal implications of COVID-19 for schools, students with disabilities, and their families with a focus on challenges faced in rural areas. Strategies for mitigating legal impacts are described.

Home as the Least Restrictive Environment for Students with Medical Disabilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-286
Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Lustig
Keyword(s):  
School Leaders ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Educational Services ◽  
Individual Education Program ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Instructional Services ◽  
Individual Education

School leaders have a prominent role on Individual Education Program (IEP) teams and often face very challenging obstacles when determining substantive educational services and placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with medical disabilities. In absence of federal statutory and regulatory policy, standard legal research methodology was used to determine whether explicit and implicit recommendations existed for school leaders elsewhere in the law for the use of homebound placements for students with medical disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Homebound instructional services can be an LRE because educational services are provided to students who would be unable to attend school programs and activities.

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