Accurate and updated information as of August 2021
Looking for information, resources, and technical assistance (TA) to help you and others support children with disabilities in their least restrictive environment in school? Here’s a starter list of places to look online. These will surely lead you to more.
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Quick-jump links
- Reflecting on the meaning of LRE (Keep scrolling)
- Availability of accessible materials
- Building instructional capacity and skill of educators
- LRE materials and resources in your state
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Reflecting on the Meaning of LRE
Considering LRE in Placement Decisions.
Indepth look at what LRE is, how it’s defined in IDEA and in practice, and who decides placement for a student with a disability.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/placement-lre/
What is least restrictive environment (LRE)? What you need to know.
(Also available in Spanish: Ambiente menos restrictivo (LRE): Lo que necesita saber)
An easy-to-read explanation of the complex subject of LRE.
https://www.understood.org/articles/en/least-restrictive-environment-lre-what-you-need-to-know
Information Brief: LRE
Here’s an 8-page authoritative description of LRE, its highly individualized nature, and what role it plays in making decisions about a child’s placement. Lots of down-to-earth examples and a flowchart of placement decision making. From the IRIS Center.
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_info_briefs/IRIS_Least_Restrictive_Environment_InfoBrief_092519.pdf
Supports, modifications, and accommodations for students with disabilities.
A great resource for families, Parent Centers, educators, and students themselves to explore how to support students with disabilities in the classroom and about the school.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/accommodations/
Accommodations: What they are and how they work.
(Also available in Spanish: Adaptaciones: Qué son y cómo funcionan)
Digs into a central truth about accommodations: Accommodations don’t change what students learn in school. Nor do they change what job responsibilities people have. They change how people learn and how people get their work done. A great resource for parents into the process of determining what accommodations their child may need.
https://www.understood.org/articles/en/accommodations-what-they-are-and-how-they-work
Dear Colleague Letter on Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
This policy letter from the U.S. Department of Education clarifies that IEPs for children with disabilities must be aligned with state academic content standards for the grade in which a child is enrolled.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/guidance-on-fape-11-17-2015.pdf
Dear Colleague Letter on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs.
This January 2017 Dear Colleague letter reaffirms the Department of Education’s position that young children with disabilities should have access to inclusive high-quality early childhood programs where they are provided with individualized and appropriate supports to enable them to meet high expectations. The DCL also reiterates that the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements of IDEA are fully applicable to the placement of preschool children with disabilities.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/preschool-lre-dcl-1-10-17.pdf
Availability of Accessible Materials
All students need instructional materials (textbooks, worksheets, exams) in accessible formats. Many disabilities can affect a student’s ability to learn from printed materials (e.g., a reading disability, a physical limitation that makes holding the materials difficult, etc.). Accessible materials ARE available—in digital formats, large print, Braille, and more. Here are 3 places to consult to find the accessible instructional materials your students (or children) need if they’re going to access the general curriculum.
National Center on Accessible Educational Materials.
https://aem.cast.org/
Bookshare.
https://www.bookshare.org/cms/
Learning Ally (formerly Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic).
http://www.learningally.org/
Building Instructional Capacity and Skill of Educators
Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.
Check out the ECTA Center’s treasure chest of tools, webinars, and publications in its collection “Inclusion in Least Restrictive Environments.”
http://ectacenter.org/topics/inclusion/default.asp
OESE Center on Instruction.
www.centeroninstruction.org/
Reading Rockets.
How to help students learn to read, including those with disabilities. Lots of materials for families and educators alike.
www.readingrockets.org
Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
Focused on implementing postive behavioral supports and interventions on a schoolwide basis, an approach to addressing behavioral collentes that is backed strongly by years of research.
http://www.pbis.org
Assistive Technology 101.
Technology can help students with disabilities access the general curriculum, take part in school activities, and be educated alongside their peers without disabilities. Explore what technology can offer support where students need it.
https://www.ctdinstitute.org/audience/at-101
National Center on Universal Design for Learning.
UDL… universal design for learning… is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. This site is especially appropriate for teachers and curriculum designers.
http://www.udlcenter.org/
IRIS Center for Training Enhancements.
Online professional development modules on a wide range of “how-to” practices that support inclusion of students with disabilities, such as accommodations, assessment, progress monitoring, behavior, differentiated instruction, and much more—
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/iris-resource-locator/
Creating an inclusive school environment: A model for school leaders.
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/inc/chalcycle.htm
LRE Materials and Supports in Your State
It is always a good idea to contact your state’s Parent Center, on issues such as LRE, special education, and state and local resources. Your Parent Center is very likely to be aware of state-specific materials and resources that support the education of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Click on the link above to find the Parent Center(s) serving your state or region.
Would you like to keep reading about placement issues?
Placement, Short-and-Sweet
Placement, in overview. Here are the basics, if you please.
Considering LRE in Placement Decisions
LRE–least restrictive environment–is a foundational principle in IDEA. What is LRE, and how does it shape placement decisions? This discussion takes a detailed look.
Starter Set of Resources on LRE (You’re already here)
Looking for information, resources, and technical assistance to help you and others support children with disabilities in their least restrictive environment in school? Here’s a starter list of places to look online.
School Inclusion
Looking for information about, and best practices for, the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms and in the daily activities of school?
Placement and School Discipline
How is a child’s placement affected when he or she is being disciplined for a violation of the student code? Find out what authority school personnel have to remove a child from his or her current placement, what authority the hearing officer has, what constitutes a change of placement, and what placement the child will have during any appeal.