The IDEA of ALL students being included in general education is not effective education. The pendulum is swinging first left and then right. Education for special education students is a complex discussion. If the students are included in the general education courses, generally they are also included in the yearly State Standardized acheivement assessments.  Those students usually need many different types of assessments are also expected to meet the general course curriculum standards. So, if you have a developmentally delayed Kindergartener who is pulled out of classes for speech and language therapy and who is already behind in math and reading missing class time-they get further and further behind. Then they take the 3rd grade test and fail it - they are retained. They then begin to develop a non learning or non growth mindset. They get the psychological evaluation- Woodcock Johnson, WIAT, Kaufman, ECT and find out if they have a below 69 IQ or have a process deficit in a cognitive processing area so they score in the average range in Full Scale IQ 70 -110  with scores ranging in those areas and sometimes below in subtest.

Teachers are evaluated on how well their students do on THE TEST. 

If you have a student with IND they will not get the social emotional learning as well as the daily life skills they need. IND (intellectually disabled below 69IQ) are some of the best, hard working, and positive students. This group includes Brain Trauma, genetic disorders like Fragile X, Downs Syndrome, Autistic Spectrum, and sometimes these kids especially in Middle School are made fun of. In classes, where Higher Order Thinking is the dish du jour, is this relative to their learning? 

Another complexity in students today are the many chemical babies that are born- some diagnosed some are missed. What about the scores of pregnant moms giving birth in southern Colorado whose babies test positive for THC.

In addition, many parents do not tell their babies in third grade-you have a deficit in one area of your brain like Einstein but your brain is a powerful tool organ. You must work harder and those dendrites will find the connections. Study harder, get tutoring, etc.

I am a firm believer in inclusion but a realistic educator. I can not fix all of these complexities especially in one year or two years. Some of these students need more than they are getting.

Another, complexity is that many of the ESE students in areas of low SES  schools have been subjected to plenty of trauma- drugs, abusive behaviors, violence and family relationships. 

Have you seen how many ELL (students with a first language other than English) how many of them are labeled with a learning disability?

Why? Because they process language differently.They didnt get all the supports from the ELL. They learn how to speak it but cannot read and write it grade level. 

To recap- Individual disabilities, disenchantment for learning at an early age, testing, retention, teacher's being evaluated on all student achievement scores, trauma, little or no family support in underachievers, social economic status, ELL students are complexities in special education. And some may see it as a negative affect in the classroom. Who is failing them?

Add the laws that mandate equitable education and you have FEAR. 

There are many students in the regular classes that negatively effect the regular education classes. With the correct supports, there is no reason for the classroom students to be negatively effected. 

However there are no standard models that are embraced through out the nation. Give a survey and you will find - co teaching, pull out, and support facillitation vary by implementation and practice. 

Have you seen the stats on how many people with disabilities are incarcerated?

Robin Ruiz