What is meaningful inclusion?

Meaningful inclusion is demonstrated when people with disabilities are involved in natural, everyday activities and given opportunities to be involved in ways similar to their peers who do not have a disability. The goal is to make society more inclusive for everyone. Inclusion is not a time of day or a place. It is feeling a sense of belonging in your community.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a civil rights law that provides protections and entitlements to students with disabilities. Most importantly students with IEPs are entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Although FAPE is the hallmark of the IDEA that must never be compromised or denied, LRE is the vehicle that ensures a student with a disability can receive meaningful educational benefit and a FAPE.

The IDEA is clear that students with disabilities have a right to be educated alongside their nondisabled peers, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the building they would have been educated in if not for their disability. IDEA presumes general education is the LRE for each student with a disability. Therefore, annually LRE considerations must start with general education.

The IDEA requires state education agencies (SEAs) to carry out activities to ensure teachers and administrators in all public agencies are fully informed about their responsibilities for implementing the LRE requirements under 34 CFR §300.114 and are provided with technical assistance and training necessary to assist them in implementing LRE requirements. LRE requirements include the availability of a continuum of alternative placements under 34 CFR §300.115, placement determinations under 34 CFR §300.116, nonacademic and extracurricular activities under 34 CFR §300.117, and placements in public and private institutions under 34 CFR §300.118.

MDE OSE is committed to ensuring students with disabilities, as defined under the IDEA, receive a meaningful educational benefit in their LRE, interact with their typical peers, and access the general education curriculum. MDE OSE believes this leads to meaningful outcomes where adults with disabilities have the opportunity to live independently, exert control and choice over their own lives, and fully participate in and contribute to their communities. Therefore, MDE OSE maintains compliance and monitoring efforts while simultaneously collaborating with partners across the state to identify and support best practices related to ensuring students with an IEP receive a FAPE in the LRE.

The emphasis on LRE as an ongoing priority area includes the development and implementation of training materials and tools to build awareness of LRE requirements, ensuring LRE decisions are being made consistent with IDEA, and each student receives a FAPE in the LRE. These materials are intended for public agencies to use with general education and special education teachers, providers, administrators, board of education, and other educational personnel.

Research Supporting Inclusion and Belonging