Successful districts pursue LRE through four coordinated courses of action: explicit policy decisions, new less restrictive alternatives, improved placement decisions, and attitude change¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report identifies a reusable district-level design pattern for achieving LRE. It reports that LEAs with the most success pursued broad-based strategies and "have undertaken the following courses of action:(1) made the policy and political decisions necessary to achieve education in the least restrictive environment; (2) developeda wide range of less restrictive alternatives; (3) improved placement decisions and review procedures; and (4) attempted to change attitudes about the education of handicapped children in relation to non-handicapped children." Districts such as Tacoma and Riverside exemplify comprehensive versions of this pattern.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Adequate LEA resources for desired programs; explicit policy and political commitment established firmly and negotiated early with all parties involved

Constraints¶

• The report notes rural districts and those serving children needing specialized and continuing care experienced budgetary problems for which some were unable to find affordable solutions

Target Learners¶

• Handicapped students in local school districts, including severely and multiply handicapped children

Target Goals¶

• Education in the least restrictive environment with access to district resources

Claims¶

• Colorado's financial incentives for community alternatives and an interagency agreement were followed by a decline in residential institutional placements [+W]
• Tacoma's progressive inclusion program pervaded district operations and limited out-of-district placements to two over twenty years [+W]

Related Patterns¶

Examples¶

• Reverse integration: bring non-handicapped children into handicapped children's classrooms to build acceptance for LRE placement

Key Sources¶

• Farrow, Frank, and Cheryl Rogers. (1983). Policies Which Address Out-of-District Placements and Assure Education in the Least Restrictive Environment. A Report of the Handicapped Public Policy Analysis Project, Volume 3. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED245469