SPED Legislation Research Project
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Feb 20, 2024
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Least Restrictive Environment
Joana Leonor
College of Education, Midwestern State University
SPED-6913: Special Education Law
Dr. Tammy L. Stephens
October 9, 2022
Special Education is not a place; it is the support and services brought to students through
an IEP. IDEA stated that all students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education in the
student's least restrictive environment. LRE amended to strengthen the provision by mandating that students with disabilities have access to and progress in the general education curriculum when appropriate with non-disabled peers. LRE is mandatory for all school districts unless found
that the student with a disability would be more successful with instruction from special classes and additional learning support outside the standard general classroom setting. Before LRE became a prominent issue in the 1960s, there was limited access to appropriate educational and residential services and support. Children and adults with severe disabilities were sometimes sent
to overcrowded, understaffed, experimental institutions. Advocates and parents began to push for
equal opportunity and a continuum of services for students with disabilities.
According to IDEA, each public agency must ensure that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public and private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are non-disabled; and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular education environment occurs only if the nature and severity of the disability are such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
The first part of the LRE requirement of the IDEA addresses the right of all students with disabilities to be educated with non-disabled students. Schools must make reasonable efforts to place and maintain students in less restrictive settings if it is the most appropriate for them or if a
more restrictive setting is appropriate. To ensure that schools make reasonable efforts to educate students in less restrictive settings, the LRE mandate also requires that before students with
disabilities are placed in more restrictive settings, efforts must first be made to maintain a student
in less restrictive settings with the use of supplementary aids and services.
A child needs to spend as much classroom time as possible with same-age peers who do not receive special education services. When the general education classroom is not the best placement for a student based on his needs, a continuum of placement should be available to meet their needs. The required continuum of alternative placements reinforces the importance of individualized inquiry, not a "one size fits all" approach in determining what placement is the LRE for each student with a disability. The continuum required must include alternative placements such as instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions. The continuum must also provide supplementary services such as resource room or itinerant education in conjunction with regular class placement. School districts that seek to impose more restrictive environments on students with disabilities, such as segregated classrooms, must demonstrate that a student cannot be successful in a less restrictive setting. In other words, segregation and restriction are the options of last resort.
Placement should also be made at the school closest to the child's home or when they would be placed if they do not have a disability. If a child is placed in a more restrictive classroom, they should be included to the maximum extent possible with their non-disabled peers. This may mean they are with non-disabled peers during recess, lunch, fitness, and special classes. A student with a disability has the right to be educated in a not overly restrictive setting, considering what is appropriate for that student. Appropriateness entails an education that will provide a meaningful benefit for a student.
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As a special education teacher, student placement is often a battle that we fight for our students. Some IEP team members think that if a student qualifies for special education services, they should be in a special education classroom. Upon reading much information regarding LRE,
I learned a lot I didn't know when I started as a teacher. Students benefit from being in their LRE
by interacting with their peers to the maximum extent possible. LRE placement is not a decision to be made by one person; it is a careful decision by the IEP team gathered from different data, such as evaluations, to determine the best placement for a student. The primary aim of LRE is to ensure that each child receives an inclusive yet specialized education. Sometimes, placing a child
in a regular education classroom isn't the best placement because a specific service or program can't be provided there. The IEP team decides on placement together. We are essential members of the IEP team to help make the best placement decisions after carefully evaluating each data. We are also an advocate for each child that we service. A school district may not refuse to place a child in an LRE because it lacks the appropriate placement option. If gaps in the continuum exist within a school district, the district must fill them through whatever means are required. The district must provide a placement where the student's needs can be met.
Daniel RR. V. State Board of Education
Facts:
This case concerns a six-year-old child, Daniel, who has Down Syndrome, mental retardation, and speech impairment. Daniel's developmental age was between two and three years, and his communication skills were slightly less than those of a two-year-old. He was placed in a half-day special education class, with the other half spent in a traditional pre-
kindergarten class. Mrs. Norton, his pre-kindergarten teacher, noticed that Daniel could not participate in class without constant, individualized attention for her or the teacher's aide, and he failed to master any of the skills taught in class. It will take Ms. Norton to modify the entire curriculum to almost beyond recognition for Daniel to reach Daniel's level. The IEP team met again and changed his placement to an all-day early childhood special education class. He would eat lunch in the school cafeteria with nonhandicapped children three days a week if his mother were present to supervise him.
The decision in administrative and lower courts:
The hearing officer concluded that the regular education classroom was not the appropriate placement for Daniel.
Rationale:
The hearing officer concluded that Daniel could not participate in the pre-kindergarten class without constant attention from the instructor because the curriculum was beyond his abilities. It was also found that Daniel was receiving little educational benefit from the pre-
kindergarten class and that he needs constant attention from the teacher, affecting the rest of the
class. The instructor would have to downgrade 90 to 100 percent of the curriculum to bring it to a level Daniel could master.
Scope of the holding:
The court ruled that all the guidelines of the EHA had been followed. The act requires each state to provide FAPE to all disabled students to determine appropriate placement. The act also requires that disabled children be educated with their nonhandicapped peers or mainstreamed to the greatest extent possible. The circuit court ruled that FAPE and mainstreaming conflicted with each other. They stated, "mainstreaming would be pointless if we forced instructors to modify the regular education curriculum to the extent that the handicapped child is not required to learn any of the skills normally taught in regular education."
Significance of the case:
This was a landmark case in interpreting the language behind IDEA's predecessor, EHA. The courts decided that schools must accommodate disabled students in regular classrooms but are not required to modify the degree to which the student is excused from learning skills taught in the traditional classroom. It also stated that the regular classroom is the LRE. It also developed
the two-prong test as the basis of LRE. First, can education in the traditional classroom with supplemental aids and services be achieved satisfactorily? If it cannot, has the school mainstreamed the student to the maximum extent appropriate? Even if it is usually beneficial for disabled students to spend most of their day with nondisabled peers, it is the law that every student should be provided with free and appropriate public education. If a student is not progressing and cannot participate in the general education classroom, it is important to look into
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a more restrictive environment along the continuum of placement where learning can be centered
around their diverse and individual needs.
References
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and Educational Placement for students with IEP
https://www.education.pa.gov/Policy-Funding/BECS/PACode/Pages/
LeastRestrictiveEnvironment.aspx
Least Restrictive Environment, Mainstreaming, and Inclusion.
https://prntexas.org/least-restrictive-environment-mainstreaming-and-inclusion/
Daniel R.R. v. State Bd. of Educ, 874 F.2d 1036 - Casetext.
https://casetext.com/case/daniel-rr-v-state-bd-of-educ
Daniel R.r., Plaintiff-appellant, v. State Board of Education, et al ....
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/874/1036/382507/
Sec. 300.114 LRE requirements - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/b/300.114
The Least Restrictive Environment A Primer for Parents and Educators
Microsoft Word - LRE primer for parents and educators JC ls 4-06.doc