Mar 06 2009
Two Sides of the Coin in Special Education
Last month, Colorado’s Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 130, which expands additional educational needs for children with autism. The plan was modified from the original proposal that would have provided scholarship money for autistic children to attend private schools, which is really a voucher program. The SB in its current state, now proposes to open at least three new charter schools in Colorado to help children with autism and similar disorders.
Meanwhile, in Nashville, Tennessee, schools are focused more on mainstreaming children with special needs into a regular classroom, claiming segregation lowers test scores. The Nashville Metro district has increased mainstreaming with 48 percent of the special education students, up from 36 percent of last years (1). This is based on scores decreasing for special education students and the special education program’s deficiencies.
There are two schools of thought in these two different states, one for segregation and one for inclusion of students with special needs. This is controversial and there are arguments on both sides. The argument proposing segregation comes from parents that want to most qualified and training teachers overseeing their autistic child’s education. Having a school that focuses on providing the best education for children with these special needs gives them the attention the children need.
The flip side, mainstreaming and inclusion, argues that children that are segregated can be hurt developmentally and it is the child’s best interest to be mainstreamed in a regular classroom. Dan Reschly, professor of education and psychology of special education at Vanderbilt University, stated that “there is little research that supports segregation as an effective model for educating special-needs students” (1).
Is there a middle ground on this issue and what is best for all students? Please comment, I would like to hear from parents and teachers on this ongoing debate.
Reference: (1) http://tennessean.com/article/20090306/NEWS04/903060373
In my school district, there is a strong push toward inclusion. At this point, most learning disabled students are in a regular classroom, and might get 30 minutes a day with the special ed teacher. At my school there is a student with down syndrome in a regular ed class, but she gets all of her instruction from a special ed teacher. She also has a full time aide who accompanies her throughout the day. There are still full-time programs for students with severe handicaps, including down syndrome. This particular child’s parents opted to keep her at her home school.
I absolutely agree that students should have the “least restrictive environment.” However, sometimes it is not appropriate for a certain student to be in the regular ed classroom.
Thank you for you input. I think case by case may be the best solution. I think there are benefits to mainstreaming in many situations, but there are times it may not be beneficial to the student or the rest of the class.