Can Charter Schools Address Racial Inequities Evidenced in Access to the General Education Classroom? A Longitudinal Study in Chicago Public Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico R. Waitoller ◽  
Daniel M. Maggin
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
General Education ◽  
Longitudinal Analysis ◽  
White Students ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Neighborhood Schools ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Restrictive Environment

This study presents a longitudinal analysis of racial inequities evidenced in placement patterns in the least restrictive environment (LRE). We compared placement trends in neighborhoods and charter schools for Black and White students receiving special education services (SRSES). Drawing from the concept of institutional isomorphism and using a longitudinal analysis of odds ratio, we examined annual school data from 2008 to 2012 on students’ placement in the LRE in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Our findings indicate that over time charter schools mirror neighborhood schools’ (NS) racial inequities evidenced in access to general education classrooms.

Is Integration of Students with Disabilities Happening?

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Sawyer ◽  
Margaret J. McLaughlin ◽  
Marianne Winglee
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
General Public ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Regular Education Initiative ◽  
Is Integration ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
General Education Classrooms ◽  
Education Initiative

This Study Analyzed National Program Record Data to Determine the Extent to which Students with Various Disabilities have been Integrated into General Public Schools, Since 1977, and General Education Classrooms, Since 1985. The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Mandate, Historical Origins of LRE, Recent LRE Initiatives, Including the Regular Education Initiative, and Relevant Research are Discussed. The Utility and Reliability of the Data are also Examined. Results Indicate that, Overall, Increases in Placements within General Public Schools have Occurred for Most Students with Disabilities. Increased Placements in General Education Classrooms have also Occurred and have been Even More Pronounced. Integration Patterns, However, have Varied Substantially Across Disabilities; Possible Reasons for these Differences are Presented.

Being in the Right Place at the Right Time: Educational Placement of Students With Intellectual Disability by State and Year

Inclusion ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-221
Author(s):  
Eric J. Anderson ◽  
Matthew E. Brock
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
Federal Mandate ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
The Right ◽  
General Education Classrooms

Abstract Despite the longstanding federal mandate to place students with disabilities in general education classrooms to the maximum extent appropriate, most students with intellectual disability continue to spend most of their time in separate classrooms and schools. In this study, we describe longitudinal educational placement patterns in six states that represent the wide span of educational placement (i.e., Vermont, Kentucky, Kansas, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Montana). Surprisingly, some states are trending toward more restrictive placements, and the gap between the most and least inclusive states is continuing to widen over time. We offer constructive suggestions for appropriately applying the principle of least restrictive environment so that placement decisions are driven by student needs and not where students live.

scholarly journals Increasing Inclusive Education Through a Learning Center Model: A California Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Aja McKee ◽  
Audri Sandoval Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Deep Structure ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Educational Programming ◽  
Federal Mandate ◽  
Restrictive Environment

Learning center models offer students with disabilities learning experiences in general education classrooms, while retaining support and services from special education personnel. The learning center approach examines existing educational perspectives, practices and structures, surrounding access to general education for students with disabilities. This study used a document analysis, a qualitative data method, to examine how two California school districts developed a learning center model to transform special education programming from segregated special education classrooms and practices to placement and access to general education. The findings inform educational programming for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment, to comply with the American federal mandate. Findings suggest that the deep structure of educational practices complicated the ease of a change in practices for both general and special educators. However, the community approach of the learning center model, where all teachers assume the educational responsibilities for all students, forced these educators to be flexible, reexamine structures and practices, and challenge the ethos of traditional schooling. 

North Carolina’s Public Schools: Growth and Local Taxation

1985 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-291
Author(s):  
Jonathan B. Pritchett
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
State Government ◽  
White Students ◽  
School Boards ◽  
Black Children ◽  
The State ◽  
White Children ◽  
The Public ◽  
Black And White ◽  
White Schools

The Rapid increase in public spending for white schools that occurred in North Carolina after the turn of the century led to a large racial disparity in the amount spent per child by 1910. Previous scholars have attributed this racial difference in school spending to the disfranchisement of the black voter (Margo, 1982). It was argued that once blacks were prevented from voting, the white members of the school boards were able to divert the public funds which were initially allocated for the education of black children. The most widely accepted version of this theory is credited to Horace Mann Bond (1934) who studied education expenditures for black children in Alabama. Bond argued that the governmental level at which schools were financed was important in determining the racial division of public school funds since the white members of the county school boards were particularly inclined to divert the funds allocated by the state government. The state funds which were allocated to the local school boards in Alabama were not required to be shared equally between black and white students. After blacks had been disfranchised, the county school boards responded by allocating a disproportionate share of these state funds for the education of white children.

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.

Teachers in Action

2011 ◽  
pp. 182-190
Author(s):  
Trae Stewart ◽  
Rebecca A. Hines ◽  
Marcey Kinney
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Teacher Efficacy ◽  
General Education ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Exceptional Students ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
General Education Classroom ◽  
Restrictive Environment

Teachers are increasingly expected to work with children with varying disabilities in the least restrictive environment – most commonly, the general education classroom. Yet, teachers who did not major in special education remain unprepared to meet the needs of children with disabilities in the classroom because they received no relevant formal field experiences during their pre-service years. As a result, unknowledgeable teachers may retain damaging stereotypes of persons with disabilities, hold a reduced sense of teacher efficacy to include all learners, and in the end, be less willing to work with exceptional students in their classes. This chapter provides an overview of a Florida-based project that aims to connect communities, nonprofit organizations, university pre-service teachers, and persons with disabilities using high-tech, high-touch service-learning.

Theory and Implementation of Inclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-42
Author(s):  
Christine M. Gleason ◽  
Kristi L. Santi
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Attitudes Toward Inclusion ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Students With Special Needs ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Restrictive Environment

The inclusion of students with special needs in general education settings has become an essential component of education. Including all students in the least restrictive environment to the maximum extent possible is the law and an innate human right. However, research reveals that some teachers do not have positive attitudes toward including students with disabilities. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss findings from a study that uncovered factors behind teachers' attitudes toward inclusion. The general findings and themes are discussed. The chapter concludes with a list of resources teachers can access without payment to help them better understand students with disabilities and ways in which the teacher can more easily develop an inclusive, inviting environment for all.

“We Never Had a Prom”

2018 ◽  
pp. 146-166
Author(s):  
Natalie G. Adams ◽  
James H. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
White Students ◽  
Racial Politics ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Student Government ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Interracial Friendships ◽  
The World

This chapter explores the world of proms, cheerleading, band, pep rallies, homecoming court, and student government, where the racial politics of the day had a direct impact on the lives of students. It analyzes how the micropolitics embedded in extracurricular activities both helped and impeded the loftier goal of reducing prejudice through social integration. For years, segregationists had warned about the dire consequences of “race mixing.” Indeed, the Citizens' Council built its campaign to preserve segregated public schools around predictions that integration of schools would bring about interracial friendships, dating, and marriage, thus the end of “racial integrity” and the dominance of the white race. Therefore, as schools began to desegregate in the late 1960s, at the forefront of everyone's minds was the issue of social integration among black and white students.

Physical Education and Sport for the Deaf: Rethinking the Least Restrictive Environment

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Butterfield
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Physical Education ◽  
Deaf Education ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Residential Schools ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
Language Needs ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Placement Option

Efforts to include children with disabilities in mainstream settings often raise questions as to what constitutes “least restrictive.” This paper addresses educational placement of deaf children, especially as it pertains to physical education and sport. Many leaders in deaf education hold that placement of deaf children in public schools often occurs without regard to their socioemotional/cultural/language needs. This paper provides a rationale for the residential school as a viable and legitimate placement option for deaf children. Also included in the paper is a brief historical overview of deaf education including the contributions of residential schools to deaf sport and deaf culture.

Borders/Fronteras: Immigrant Students' Worlds in Art

2001 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. A1-A17
Author(s):  
Robert Shreefter
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
White Students ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Immigrant Children ◽  
Black And White ◽  
School Demographics ◽  
Children Of Migrant Workers ◽  
Growing Population

In my work as an artist and a writer-in-residence in a number of public schools in Wake and Durham counties in North Carolina, I was struck by changing school demographics and culture. These schools — which had been made up almost exclusively of Black and White students—were experiencing a growing population of immigrant children, mostly children of migrant workers from Mexico, whose families were choosing to settle permanently in the area.

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