Should students with disabilities be included in the regular classroom

Students with disabilities should be placed in their least restrictive environment. The least restrictive environment may be in a full inclusion classroom or the regular classroom. The least restrictive environment is defined as the educational setting where a child with disabilities can receive a free appropriate public education designed to meet his or her education needs while being educated with peers without disabilities in the regular educational environment t the maximum extent appropriate ( Rennaissance, n.d). The definition of LRE in the Individuals with Disabilities Act is: To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children who are not disabled and special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature of severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily ( Rennaissance, n.d). Learning in less restrictive environments benefits students with and without disabilities in so much as all children are more likely to improve their academic performance, and increase their communication and socialization skills. A student’s LRE is the setting where the student can receive an appropriate education, based on his or her needs, while still being educated with non disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, Depending on the student’s educational needs, the least restrictive environment could be, for example, the general education classroom, with or without supplementary aids and services; a separate special education program for part of the day with the remainder of the day being spent in general education classes or in activities with students who do not have disabilities; a special education class within the student’s child’s neighbor hood school; or even a separate school specializing in the needs of a certain type of disability ( Renaissance, n.d).