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Full Inclusion Opportunities for all Students

By Angel Morgan�Systemic Change in Education: ED 795-002 �Fall 2019

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Purpose

To discuss providing full inclusion classrooms as an opportunity for all students.
NC State Board of Education goals for 2025

Goal 2: Improve school and district performance
Goal 3: Increase educator preparedness to meet the needs of every student

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Background Information �Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Least Restrictive Environment - IDEA’s strong preference for educating students with disabilities in regular classes with appropriate aids and supports.
1997 IDEA Amendment

IEP to include statements about how the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum
IEP team must include at least one of the child’s regular education teachers

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Least Restrictive Environment provision, “IDEA’s strong preference for educating students with disabilities in regular classes with appropriate aids and supports” (U.S. Department of Education, 2019).
In 1997, IDEA Amendments added requirements for a child’s IEP to include statements about how the child’s disability affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general curriculum, and measurable annual goals to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum. The Amendments also state that the IEP team must include at least one of the child’s regular education teachers, if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment (U.S. Department of Education, 2019).

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Background Information: �NC Special Education

April 2019 - 13% (184,597) Students with Disabilities (SWD) in North Carolina (age 5 – 21 in public school)
2017 - 56,304 students spent < 80% of school day in regular education classroom = ~33% of SWD and ~4% of all students

Classroom placement decision is made by the IEP team, but students on the Extended Content Standards are limited to < 40% of their school day in a regular education

< 40% day	40% - 79% day	> 80% day
25,369	30,665	120,994

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Background Information: �Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) NC Plan

Theory of Action

Schools will support individualized professional development of educators and empower these professionals to adopt their own innovative ideas and strategies for instruction.
In our classrooms, personalized, digital-age learning will allow students to determine the pace at which they learn and will inspire students to take ownership of their preparation for their own path to success through an immediate career, post-secondary education, or both.

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Background Information: North Carolina �State Improvement Project (NCSIP)

NCSIP goals

1. Improve basic skills performance of students with disabilities;

2. Increase the percentage of qualified teachers of students with disabilities;

3. Increase graduation rates and decrease dropout rates of students with disabilities;

4. Improve parent satisfaction and involvement with, and support of, school services for students with disabilities; and

5. Improve the quality of teachers’ instructional competencies.

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Problem Statement

SWD who learn on the Extended Content Standards are being deprived of learning opportunities afforded to regular education students, and neurotypical students are missing out on opportunities to collaborate and learn alongside their neurodiverse peers.

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NC DPI should provide full inclusion opportunities for all students.

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Inclusion improves learning for all students

Differentiated instruction increases student engagement.
Collaborative learning opportunities challenge learners of all abilities.
Academic supports help each student access the full curriculum.

Inclusion improves learning for all students by increasing student engagement through differentiated instruction, providing collaborative learning opportunities with students of mixed academic abilities, and providing academic supports for all students to access the full curriculum.

Students with varying academic abilities in the same classroom require differentiated instruction to meet the academic needs of all students. Differentiation can be based on student interests, preferred learning styles, and/or academic level or readiness. (Koch, 2016) Teachers in inclusive schools must consider a wide range of learning modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) in designing instruction. This not only enhances the way in which educators provide supports and accommodations for students with disabilities, but it also diversifies the educational experience of all students.

Additionally, collaborative learning opportunities between students of mixed academic abilities benefits students of all abilities. Collaboration gives high achievers the opportunity to elaborate their thinking, and provides struggling learners the opportunity to ask questions that they may not feel comfortable sharing with their teacher (Wiliam, 2011).

Finally, inclusive classrooms provide academic supports, such as flexible pacing and grouping, reading and literacy specialists, and occupational therapy consults) that create a supportive environment for all learners. It is obvious how these supports help students with disabilities and English Language Learners, but these supports also benefit neurotypical learners by introducing them to new strategies for engaging with content.

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Inclusion helps students accept individual differences

Helps students overcome their misconceptions about SWD by bringing them together in integrated settings
Fosters friendships in their home communities
Encourages a respect for diversity that creates a welcoming environment for all

Inclusion promotes open discussion about difference, and respect for people of all backgrounds and abilities. These benefits are achieved because inclusion helps neurotypical students overcome their misconceptions about neurodiverse learners by bringing them together in an integrated setting (Hehir, Grindal, Freeman, Lamoreau, Borquaye, & Burke, 2016). Additionally, in the absence of inclusive classrooms, “students with and without developmental disabilities may miss out on the chance to ever meet one another, to discover the interests and aspirations they share in common, and to learn about and from someone whose experiences in life may differ markedly from their own” (Carter, Asmus, & Moss, 2013). Finally, inclusion encourages a respect for diversity that creates a welcoming environment through using teaching models that enable all students to see each other’s strengths.

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Inclusion helps students build agency

Promotes students’ awareness of their current strengths and weaknesses
Provides choices to select strategies and tactics for meeting a goal through differentiated learning
Offers students an opportunity to students to externalize their thinking, self-reflect, and offer and receive feedback with adults and peers
Reinforces self-efficacy by providing multiple opportunities for students to develop and showcase mastery of their learning

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Risks of Full Inclusion

Disruptive behavior from students with disabilities may redirect teachers’ attention away from fostering the academic and social growth of all students.
Teachers may not have the expertise, time, resources and teamwork to develop a flexible curriculum that is adequately structured in content, learning tasks, and adaptable classroom practices to engage all learners and address contrasting learner needs.
Regular education teachers may not feel prepared to teach students with disabilities.
Neurotypical peers may not accept students with disabilities or may see them as a hindrance or distraction to learning.
No time for coordinating supports and accommodations

Despite the many benefits of full inclusion, there are also challenges to proactively plan for when implementing full inclusion classrooms. Some of these challenges are:

Disruptive behavior from students with disabilities may redirect teachers’ attention away from fostering the academic and social growth of all students (Heir et al., 2016)
Teachers may not have the expertise, time, resources and teamwork to develop a flexible curriculum that is adequately structured in content, learning tasks, and adaptable classroom practices to engage all learners and address contrasting learner needs (Prain, Cox, Deed, Edwards, Farrelly, Keefe & Yager, 2014).
Regular education teachers may not feel prepared to teach students with disabilities.
Neurotypical peers may not accept students with disabilities or may see them as a hindrance or distraction to learning.
No time for coordinating supports and accommodations

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Action Plan

Full Inclusion

Personalized Learning

Co-teaching

Social-emotional Learning

NC DPI should leverage personalized learning methods, co-teaching, and social-emotional learning to enable full inclusion opportunities for all students.

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Personalized Learning Strategies

Use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to help teachers meet the needs of all students.
Use technology to engage, motivate, and personalize learning.
Project Based Learning provides a structure in which the teacher can differentiate the learning process.

Example personalized learning strategies that could be implemented to facilitate inclusive classrooms include:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that is designed to give every student the opportunity to learn. UDL provides flexibility in how information is presented, how students demonstrate what they know, and how students engage with the material. Accordingly, “ESSA acknowledges this reality and encourages states and districts to use federal funding to help teachers expand the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)” (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2019)
Next, technology can help facilitate inclusive classrooms. Teachers can use technology to offer a variety of learning opportunities that engage, instruct, and support students with a variety of methods designed to appeal to individual learners. Existing and emerging accessibility technologies, as well as internet resources and adaptive applications, are key for providing this fully personalized support of each student. (Digital Promise Global, 2016)
Finally, Project Based Learning provides tasks that help students connect academic knowledge to their everyday lives. Students with different abilities can focus on tasks at different levels using methods that align with their learning strengths. (Sormunen, Juuti & Lavonen, 2019).

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Personalized Learning Success Story�Eighty-First Street School, Milwaukee, WI

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Co-Teaching

Provides a colleague for regular education teachers to co-plan lessons with and learn from.
Special education teacher can address issues of disruptive behavior from students with disabilities as they arise, which allows the regular education to focus on fostering the academic and social growth of other students
“Students liked having two teachers in the classroom because there was always someone to ask for help, the co‐teachers created a ‘fun’ learning environment, and students felt they were learning well”

Co-teaching is a setting where a general education teacher and a special education teacher work together with one group of pupils

Co-teaching is a setting where a general education teacher and a special education teacher work together with one group of pupils” (Rytivaara, 2012, p. 18)

It addresses the risk of regular education teachers not feeling prepared to teach students with disabilities by providing a colleague to co-plan lessons with and learn from.

It also reduces the risk of behavior from a student with disabilities diverting regular education teacher attention away from the entire group. The special education teacher can address issues of disruptive behavior from students with disabilities as they arise, which allows the regular education to focus on fostering the academic and social growth of other students

“Students liked having two teachers in the classroom because there was always someone to ask for help, the co‐teachers created a ‘fun’ learning environment, and students felt they were learning well” (Strogilos & King‐Sears, 2019).

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Co-Teaching Success Story�Kailua Intermediate School�Honolulu County, Hawaii

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Social-Emotional Learning

Educates all students about relating to others and managing feelings to assist with neurotypical peers accepting students with disabilities and fostering social skills in neurodiverse peers
Social and emotional learning in inclusive settings helps students overcome their misconceptions about each other.
Children with disabilities who are included in regular education develop friendships in their home communities

Social emotional learning programs help students learn to relate to each other, manage conflicts, make good decisions, and manage feelings. It educates all students about relating to others and managing feelings to assist with neurotypical peers accepting students with disabilities and fostering social skills in neurodiverse peers

Stephanie Alberto, Andrea Fonseca, & Sandra J. Stein told the story of one student with a disability in an inclusive classroom who benefited from social-emotional learning by learning that he was responsible for his own behavior, and his classmates learned to relate to the world not in terms of what works for them alone, but in terms of what works for everyone. (Alberto, Fonseca, & Stein, 2016)

Social emotional programs teach students identify others who may be potential friends, understand non-verbal communication skills, empathize and be good listeners. This combination of skills prepares all students in the classroom to form friendships both in school and in their home communities.

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Teacher Supports for Full Inclusion

Teacher training for teaching in full inclusion classrooms to develop personalized, flexible curriculum with differentiated learning tasks and embedded social emotional learning components
Year round schedule with a 12 month pay scale to allow time for adequate planning between quarters, and time for coordinating supports and accommodations.

In the theme of saving the best to last, full inclusion must have the programmatic backing to help mitigate the risks of lack of teacher expertise, time, resources and teamwork to develop a flexible curriculum with adequately structured content, learning tasks, and adaptable classroom practices to engage all learners and address contrasting learner needs. Additionally, the risk of lack of time for coordinating supports and accommodations.

These risks can be mitigated by:

Preparing both regular education and special education teachers to teach in full inclusion classrooms, and affording them the flexibility to implement a standards based curriculum in a manner they think best meets the needs of their learners is vital to the success to full inclusion.
Operating full inclusion classrooms on a year round schedule with a 12 month pay scale to allow time for adequate planning between quarters, and time for coordinating supports and accommodations.

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Proposal

Create a pilot program of full inclusion classrooms at the elementary, middle and high school levels employing a personalized learning instructional approach, co-teaching model, and integrated social emotional curriculum.

Retain current regular classroom student capacity
Count special education students in total count
Retain the same ratio for special education students as they are afforded in a separate special education classroom

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Funding Proposal for Full Inclusion

Use current special education funding per current budget to retain existing teacher : TA : student ratios in inclusion classrooms

State and National Funding per SWD (age 5 – 21) = $5607.49

$4,093.14 (State Aid ) + $1,514.35 (IDEA, Part B (PRC 60))

Appropriate funds allotted to meeting ESSA plan items and NCSIP goals for:

Social Emotional Learning curriculum
Training for teachers participating in pilot program
Technology and other resources required to implement personalized learning

Use current special education funding per current budget to retain existing teacher : TA : student ratios in inclusion classrooms

State and National Funding per SWD (age 5 – 21) = $5607.49

$4,093.14 (State Aid ) + $1,514.35 (IDEA, Part B (PRC 60))

Appropriate funds allotted to meeting ESSA plan items and NCSIP goals for:

Social Emotional Learning curriculum

Training for teachers participating in pilot program

Technology and other resources required to implement personalized learning

**Special Education Funding comes from state and federal funds. State Aid per child for SWD school-aged 5 through 21 averages $4,093.14, and federal funds provided according to IDEA, Part B (PRC 60) are $1,514.35 per SWD for a total of $5607.49 (NC Department of Public Instruction, 2018)

(NC Department of Public Instruction, 2019). �

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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Full Inclusion

Student Achievement Measures – EOG and EOC scores
Social-Emotional Learning Surveys of all students, teachers, parents and administrators
Graduation vs. Attendance Certificate Rates for SWD
Post-Secondary Student Outcomes for SWD

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Concluding Statement

Implementing Full Inclusion in NC improves academic outcomes and fosters a positive school climate for all students, while meeting federal IDEA regulations for Least Restrictive Environment, and aligning with current NCSIP goals and the ESSA Theory of Action.

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References

Alberto, S., Fonseca, A., & Stein, S. J. (2016). Hitting the Switch: ¡Sí se puede! In S. Danforth, & J. M. Valente (Eds.), 2016Life in Inclusive Classrooms:Storytelling with Disability Studies in Education (Vol. 36, pp. 94-107). Bank Street.
Carter, E. W., Asmus, J., & Moss, C. (2013, April). Fostering Friendships: Supporting Relationships Among Youth With and Without Developmental Disabilities. The Prevention Researcher, 20(2), 14-17.
Cooper, R. (2017, November 6). How can educators best promote student agency? Retrieved from Education Dive: https://www.educationdive.com/news/how-can-educators-best-promote-student-agency/508050/
Digital Promise Global. (2016). Making Learning Personal for All: The Growing Diversity in Today's Classroom. Washington, DC: Digital Promise. Retrieved from http://digitalpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/lps-growing_diversity_FINAL-1.pdf
Hehir, T., Grindal, T., Freeman, B., Lamoreau, R., Borquaye, Y., & Burke, S. (2016). A Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.

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References

IDEA Data Center . (2017). Child Count and Educational Environments. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from https://ideadata.org/interactive-public-reporting-engine-v2
Koch, S. (2016, November 28). Multipbriefs: Exclusive. Retrieved from Optimizing student success with differentiated instruction: http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/optimizing-student-success-with-differentiated-instruction/education
National Center for Learning Disabilities. (2019). The State of LD: Supporting Academic Success. Retrieved November 9, 2019, from National Center for Learning Disabilities: https://www.ncld.org/supporting-academic-success
NC Department of Public Instruction. (2018). NC ESSA State Plan. Retrieved from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/succeeds/nc-essa-state-plan-final.pdf
NC Department of Public Instruction. (2019). Per Child Allocations. Retrieved from NC DPI Exceptional Children: https://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/finance-grants/allotment-allocations/per-child-allocations

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References

NC Department of Public Instruction. (2019). Students with Disabilities April 2019 by LEA and Disability. Exceptional Children. Retrieved from https://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/reports-data/child-count/reports/april-1/2019/April2019byLEAandDisability.xls
Poon, J. D. (2018, September 11). What do you mean when you say "Student Agency"? Education Reimagined, Online. Retrieved from https://education-reimagined.org/what-do-you-mean-when-you-say-student-agency/
Prain, V., Cox, P., Deed, C., Edwards, D., Farrelly, C., Keefe, M., . . . Yager, Z. (2014). Personalizing Learning: Theory and Enactment. In V. Prain, P. Cox, C. Deed, D. Edwards, C. Farrelly, M. Keefe, . . . Z. Yager (Eds.), Adapting to Teaching and Learning in Open-Plan Schools (pp. 43-58). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Rytivaara, A. (2012). Towards Inclusion: Teacher Learning in Co-Teaching. Jyväskylä, FI: University Library of Jyväskylä.

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References

Sormunen, K., Juuti, K., & Lavonen, J. (2019, June). Maker-Centered Project-Based Learning in Inclusive Classes: Supporting Students_ Active Participation with Teacher-Directed Reflective Discussions. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 1-22. doi:10.1007/s10763-019-09998-9
Strogilos, V., & King‐Sears, M. E. (2019, April). Co‐teaching is extra help and fun: perspectives on co‐teaching from middle school students and co‐teachers. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 92-102. doi:10.1111/1471-3802.12427
U.S. Department of Education. (2019). Sec. 300.8 Child with a disability. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/topic-areas/#LRE
Wiliam, D. (2018). Embedded formative assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.