Inclusion (Mainstreaming)

BENEFITS

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Key Benefits for Students w/Disability

• Stronger growth in reading and math and more likely to pursue education or employment after high school.

 

•  Learning alongside peers gives students access to grade-level content, a wider range of instructional approaches, and higher expectations.

 

• Inclusive placements are associated with fewer absences and fewer serious behavior incidents.

 

• Being in general education allows more opportunities to practice communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution and to form meaningful friendships.

 

• Avoiding segregation reduces stigma and social isolation, and students often report higher confidence and a more positive self-concept.

 

Benefits for Students without Disabilities

•  Learning daily with peers who have diverse needs reduces fear of difference and promotes more accepting, prosocial attitudes.

 

• Show stronger communication skills, collaboration, and conflict-resolution abilities.

 

•  Classmates can act as peer models, tutors, or collaborators, which can deepen their own understanding and responsibility.

 

• Gains in self-esteem, a stronger sense of belonging, and more developed ethical principles such as fairness and responsiveness to others’ needs.

 

Benefits for Classrooms and Schools

• Bring special educators, therapists, and specialists into the general classroom, which can raise instructional quality for everyone.

 

• Inclusive classrooms show fewer disruptions, stronger norms of caring, and more cohesive communities.

• Inclusion and mainstreaming support legal and ethical commitments to educate students in the most typical setting.

 

Long-term Outcomes

• Students  who spend more time in general education have better postsecondary education and employment outcomes.

 

• Stronger social networks and community participation. Inclusive school experiences support the development of friendships and social capital. link

 

 

 

HOW TO

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Foundational Conditions

• Clear vision and policies for inclusion. Schools articulate inclusion as the default, connect it to LRE and equity, and spell out expectations.

 

• Leadership and scheduling that prioritize inclusion. Admins build master schedules around inclusive placements, protect common planning for co-teachers, and allocate paraprofessionals and related services into gen ed instead of pull-out by default.

 

• Ongoing, job-embedded PD. Teachers get concrete training and coaching in co-teaching, UDL, behavior supports, and IEP implementation.

 

Instructional Design and Delivery

• Teachers plan lessons with multiple means of engagement, representation, so that grade-level content is accessible.

 

• Align instruction to IEP goals with progress monitoring.

 

• Flexible grouping and varied assessment. Station teaching, small groups, performance-based tasks, and multimodal assessments.

 

Collaboration and Staffing

• Strong co-teaching partnerships.  Share planning, instruction, and assessment using models like station, parallel, and team teaching, rather than “one teaches, one helps.”

 

• Intentional use of paraprofessionals. Paras are trained to promote independence, scaffold access, and support peer interaction.

 

• Related service providers (SLPs, OTs, behavior specialists) push in when possible and co-plan supports that can live in classroom routines.

 

Classroom Climate and Behavior Supports

• Consistent expectations and tiered supports reduce exclusionary discipline and make classes manageable for diverse learners.

 

• Culture of belonging and high expectations. Teachers explicitly teach prosocial norms, model respect for differences, and communicate that all students are capable.

 

• Predictable routines with visual and organizational supports. Visual schedules, clear procedures, and structured transitions.

 

Family and Student Voice

• Active family engagement in placement and planning. Families are treated as partners in decisions, share expertise on their children, and receive transparent communication.

 

• Student agency and self-advocacy. Students are taught to understand their strengths and needs, use accommodations, and participate in IEP or goal-setting discussions.  link

 

 

 

 

CHALLENGES

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System and Resource Challenges

• Insufficient funding and staffing. Schools often lack enough special educators, paraprofessionals, related service providers, and access to  specialized materials.

 

• Overcrowded classes and limited time. Large class sizes and packed schedules make differentiation, co-planning, and individualized support difficult to sustain.

 

•  Buildings, classrooms, and transportation may not be fully accessible or adaptable for students with diverse physical, sensory, or behavioral needs.

 

Teacher Capacity and Workload

•  Many general educators report feeling underprepared for disability-specific strategies, behavior supports, and accommodation/modification decisions.

 

•  Managing diverse needs, IEP requirements, and progress monitoring on top of core instruction can contribute to burnout and reduced self-efficacy.

 

•  When expectations for general vs. special educators, paraprofessionals, and related service providers are unclear, tasks fall through the cracks or are duplicated.

 

Co-Teaching and Classroom Practice

• Without shared planning and clear models, special educators become aides, and students do not get the full benefit of two teachers.

 

• Fixed pacing guides and standardized assessments can clash with the need to adapt content, process, and products for diverse learners.

 

• Teachers may struggle to implement proactive supports, leading to increased disruptions, reliance on removal, or informal exclusion within the room.

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Relationships

• Some educators and families still believe students with disabilities belong in separate settings, or view them as “someone else’s responsibility.”

 

• Social prejudice or lack of structured social support can leave students with disabilities isolated, even when physically included.

 

•  Families may feel unheard in placement decisions or uncertain that the general classroom can meet their child’s needs, reducing collaboration.

 

Policy and Implementation Gaps

• Laws and district policies may support inclusion, but local interpretations, scheduling, and staffing decisions can undermine it.

 

•  Schools report limited coaching, unclear guidance, and slow responses from central offices or special education support services. Link

 

 

 

WHAT NOT TO DO

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• Don’t act as a “host” while the para or special educator does all the teaching for the student with a disability.

 

• Don’t park the student with a disability at a separate back table with an adult; this undermines peer interaction and social belonging.

 

• Don’t exclude the student from group work, projects, or whole-class activities.

 

• Don’t use a single teaching style (mostly lecture/text/worksheets) and assume all students will access learning that way.

 

• Don’t “teach to the middle” and plan one level of materials, pacing, and tasks.

• Don’t glance at the IEP once and then file it away; this leads to missed accommodations and noncompliance.

 

• Don’t ignore or quietly drop accommodations because they feel inconvenient or “unfair” to other students.

 

• Don’t let the para or specialist work independently without coordination.

 

• Don’t plan in the hallway or “on the fly” instead of scheduling real co-planning time.

• Don’t systematically water down tasks so the student never encounters productive challenge.

 

• Don’t keep the student with a disability from trying grade-level work or leadership roles.

 

• Don’t use supports in ways that create dependence (the adult doing the thinking, writing, or social navigating).

 

• Don’t tolerate subtle exclusion, teasing, or “othering” in seating, grouping, or talk.link