Including Students with Severe Disabilities in General Education Settings

Abstract

A number of social, judiciary, and regulatory policies are intended to change current educational practices. Educational change, however, does not automatically occur as a result of policy adoption. Rather, educational change occurs as a result of leaders employing systematic procedures to bring about these changes. A growing philosophical, legal, and empirical data base supports the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in general education settings. This paper presents guidelines intended for educational leaders in effecting the change from segregated to inclusive school settings. Five systematic phases, or guidelines, are presented. In order to bring about successful inclusion of students with severe disabilities, leaders develop networks, assess resources, review options, install inclusion strategies, and provide a system of feedback and self-renewal.