Technical Assistance for Part B, Indicator 5

District Data

1. Are there geographical differences in the LRE data patterns?  Do rural or urban districts tend to serve children more often in separate schools/facilities? Or, do they tend more often to educate children with disabilities with their non-disabled peers?
   • If districts are large, are there differences within school districts? 
2. What do districts that show greater inclusion have in common?  What do districts that show less inclusion have in common?
3. How does the State collect and analyze data regarding the correlation between placement and post school outcomes?
4. What differences exist in the LRE data patterns for:
   • different disability categories,
   • genders, grades,
   • race/ethnicity, etc.
5. How does the State collect and analyze data regarding the correlation between placement and results on achievement tests?

Policy and Funding

1. Are there any state or local regulations or policies in place that promote the use of separate schools/facilities?
2. What State or local regulations or policies promote inclusion?
3. What State or local funding formulas promote the use of separate schools/classes/facilities?
4. Which grant funds and/or special projects are targeted to address LRE in problem districts or model districts? 
   • What is the result of the implementation of these special projects and/or the use of the grant funds

Monitoring and Quality Assurance

1. In focused monitoring, how does the Sate examine LRE data?  What are the results of these examinations?
2. How does the State’s monitoring data connect to the educational environments data or database? 
   • If not connected, what are the State’s plans for examining the relationship between monitoring findings and the educational environments data? 
3. What are the State’s LRE findings through its monitoring? 
   • What are the enforcement actions taken by the State where findings of noncompliance are not corrected within one year of the identified noncompliance; and what are the results of the enforcement actions.
4. What are all educators learning about LRE and inclusion in their pre-service or in-service personnel preparation programs?  How does the State determine the effectiveness of these programs?
5. What collaboration exists between the State and institutions of higher education (IHEs) related to preparing teachers around common goals and strategies for LRE?
6. What projects that promote inclusion have been implemented?  What data are available on whether these projects resulted in the implementation of the intended practices?
7. How does the State address the professional development regarding the following:
   • access to the general education curriculum,
   • differentiated instruction,
   • flexible learning environments, and
   • universal design for learning?
8. How has the State implemented policies and practices related to the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)?

Standards and Curriculum

1. Does the State require standards’ based IEPs?
2. How have the State’s content standards been integrated into curriculum and how are these standards reflected in Statewide assessments?
3. How does the curriculum promote the use of strategies related to access to the general education curriculum, such as universal design for learning and differentiated instruction?

Parent and Family Involvement

1. How does the State invite and inform parents and families about LRE practices at the State, district, school, and individual levels?
2. How do parents and families participate in monitoring and improvement activities around LRE and access to the general education curriculum?
3. What mechanisms are in place at all levels, including the State, district, and school levels, to promote communication and participation of a broad and diverse group of parents and families?

Original Word Document

To improve Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) in schools, factors such as educational infrastructure, instructional strategies and materials, school culture and leadership, and parent and family participation must be considered.

Inclusion Components and Self-Assessments provide resources and tools to evaluate either a system infrastructure or physical environment to determine readiness and capacity to implement inclusion.

• LRE Self-Assessment Tool – California District Level LRE Self-Assessment and Continuous Improvement Tool (2/09/07).
• Determining Policy Support for Inclusive Schools was designed to help teams of policymakers, practitioners, and advocates implement inclusive practices (2001)
• Understanding Inclusive Schooling, Professional Development Academy, National Institute for Urban School Improvement – offers Leadership Academies with different teaching modules that promote inclusive systems and schools.

Instructional Capacity and Skill of Educators. Providing high quality instruction that enables, and, excites students to learn, requires instructional capacity and skill by educators. Capacity and skill includes knowledge, tools, and a repertoire of strategies to instruct a diverse range of students. This capacity can impact whether a student has access to the general education curriculum.

• Inclusive Schooling – Professional Learning Module – This module introduces the inclusive model of education, which proposes that, with support structures in place, all students are able to successfully learn in the general education
• Instructional Programs and Practices – Variety of products, training guides, and archived video materials related to adapting instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners.
• Preparing Educators to Teach Students with Disabilities in an Era of Standards-based Reform and Accountability – This report authored by The Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children and Youth and Educational Policy Reform Researcputs forth key skills and knowledge that all educators need to increase the participation and performance of students with dis­abilities in standards-based environments
• Building the Legacy: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 2004 – is a series of interactive training modules to heighten understanding regarding IDEA 2004. Module 15, is specifically related to LRE.
• Successful Strategies for Middle and High School Inclusion – This interactive presentation will focus on practical classroom applications to support students with mild to moderate disabilities in the general education setting. In this presentation, Lisa Dieker, Associate Professor in the Department of Child, Family and Community Sciences at the University of Central Florida, will highlight co-teaching between general education and special education; building collaborative school and classroom environments; and adapting the environment, as well as curriculum and instruction, with techniques proven to help all students

School culture and leadership that supports LRE provides the context for an educational setting in which high expectations for student learning in the least restrictive environment exist. This belief is realized in settings that provide resources and opportunities for educators, and students and their families, to implement high quality services that promote learning through general education curriculum.

• School Self- Assessment Guide for Culturally Responsive Practice – An instrument that allows schools to conduct a self-assessment of their programs and practices in five domains: (a) School Governance, Organization, Policy and Climate, (b) Family Involvement, (c) Curriculum, (d) Organization of Learning, and (e) Special Education Referral Process and Programs.

To fully offer students with disabilities opportunities to participate in rigorous academic curriculum in least restrictive environments, schools and districts must promote the integration of school wide reform and improvement strategies. School improvement approaches, often considered general education initiatives, offer educators, and students and their families, additional opportunities to benefit from practices and strategies that affect academic achievement.

• Collaborative Leadership Teams – Professional Learning Module – This module is designed to promote inclusive systems and schools by coaching Collaborative Leadership Team members in both leadership skills and team collaboration. 
• Academic Enhancements and Differentiated Instruction – Strategies and papers on academic enhancements and differentiated instruction.

Parents and families are critical partners with schools in including students with disabilities and ensuring their access to the general curriculum through development and implementation of inclusive IEPs. Parents bring critical knowledge of their children's strengths and needs, strategies that have worked, and the desire to maximize their children's learning, development and school and community inclusion.

• Family School Linkages Products – Resources and activities for engaging families in the school community. Publications have come from ideas generated by families and school professionals working together.
• Delaware's Inclusive Schools Initiative (ISI) – The Parent Information Center of Delaware, in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Education, provides information for families to introduce inclusive schooling and the benefits of inclusion to students and communities. Site includes parent training module on inclusion, inclusive schools checklist for parents, information for parents on universal design for learning, and other resources.

 

The Community of Practice (CoP) on LRE for Part B provides several products and resources. It can be found on the TA Communities Website. The TA Communities Website also has interactive features such as on-line discussions to facilitate networking and shared problem-solving.