@article{36cc79bc7fbf49e2bd9fe29e9ae0bd19,
title = "The State of Inclusion With Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the United States",
abstract = "This article describes the state of inclusion and inclusive practices with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in the United States. It reviews the legislative history of the right to a free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities and the requirement in U.S. law for special education services to be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Despite a focus on the LRE and appropriate supplementary aids and services to promote success in regular education environments for students with I/DD, students with I/DD are still educated largely in segregated classrooms and settings in the United States. However, a large and growing body of research suggests the positive benefits of inclusive education providing a compelling need for ongoing change to make inclusive placements the default for students with I/DD, consistent with the law. Research clearly suggests that inclusive placements benefit students with I/DD, and emerging research highlights that engagement and access to the general education curriculum is higher in inclusive vs. segregated settings. There is an ongoing need for the implementation of the policy establishing the right to education in the LRE for students with ID, and recent court cases suggesting the importance of an “appropriately ambitious” education program provide new direction for progress in inclusive practices.",
keywords = "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States, inclusion, intellectual and developmental disability, least restrictive environment",
author = "Wehmeyer, {Michael L.} and Shogren, {Karrie A.} and Jennifer Kurth",
note = "Funding Information: Given the state of the inclusion of students with I/DD in the United States described in the previous sections, one probably has to ask, is there any hope? Certainly, current trends do not seem to engender much optimism. But, advocates for inclusion have some reason for feeling optimistic. As noted in Agran et al. ( 2019 ), the past decade has seen a substantial investment from OSEP in funding projects to study successful inclusion and create models for replication. From 2012 to 2019, OSEP funded the Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation (or SWIFT) Center ( https://lsi.ku.edu/centers/swift ), which has provided evidence for how to scale up efforts to promote the inclusion of students with more extensive support needs. Most recently, OSEP funded the Time, Instructional Effectiveness, Engagement, and State Support (or TIES) Center for Inclusive Practices for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities through 2022 to continue research on systemic changes to promote inclusion for students with significant cognitive disabilities ( https://ici.umn.edu/projects/view/203 ). Recently, the authors of this article were funded by the U.S. Department of Education to conduct a large‐scale research project, titled Factors Contributing to Academic, Social/Communication, and Behavioral Outcomes for Elementary Students with the Most Significant Cognitive Disabilities ( https://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=2128 ) to examine how educational placement affects academic, social/communication, and behavioral outcomes for elementary students with significant cognitive disabilities. This study, which is being conducted with a team of researchers around the country, will add to the evidence pertaining to factors that impact inclusive practices and the impact of placement on important student outcomes. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",
year = "2021",
month = mar,
doi = "10.1111/jppi.12332",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "18",
pages = "36--43",
journal = "Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities",
issn = "1741-1122",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "1",
}