Should My Wordless Kid Go to School with Your Normal Child?
Well, that’s the thing, rouxdsla. The scary-boo “what if” of mainstream classes being overrun with profoundly impaired special needs students is largely a bugbear.
Every special needs student is entitled, by federal law, to an Individual Education Program that is agreed upon by the teachers (special ed and mainstream), support staff and administration of the school. The IEP is developed by all the parties involved to create a educational environment most appropriate for that student, in the context of the entire school’s learning environment.
Mainstreaming is not the automatic right of every special needs student, obviously. But it is the right of every student to have that option on the table and to have its appropriateness as an educational option decided by the teachers and parents, looking out for the interests of both the student and the entire school community.
The IEP is mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; if it’s not being followed, either by the parents looking after their kids or by the school looking after the integrity of its entire student body, then the law is being broken. The solution should be to fix the system and address those violations, not ghettoize special needs students en masse.
