Placement/Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

Location, location, location. Yes, it does matter. The research overwhelmingly supports serving students in their least restrictive environment - which is why the following mandate is included in the federal legislation:

34 CFR 300.114 (a)(2) - Each public agency must ensure that - (i) To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled; and (ii) Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

Technical assistance resources on this page include research, articles, tools, templates, technical assistance centers, and Web sites. (Note: Use of the resources included on this site does not guarantee that the district's performance or determination status under section 616(d), will improve for the next reporting period.)

LRE for Students with IEPs Ages 6 through 21 (Indicator 5)

LRE Self-Assessment Tool (adapted from the District Level LRE Self-Assessment and Continuous Improvement Activities developed by WestEd, April 25, 2005) – This self-assessment tool is designed to help districts examine local practices to create improved educational options for students with disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). The tool includes an automatically-scoring Summary Sheet, Problem Solving worksheet, and Action Plan template.

Strategies to Improve Access to the General Education Curriculum (The Access Center, 2008) - The Access Center compiled information on strategies in the following areas: Instructional Methods and Practices, Media and Materials, Supports and Accommodations, and Assessment then classified the strategies on a continuum depending on their research base. "Green light" strategies are evidenced based practices while "yellow light" strategies are promising practices but require further validation and thus should be used with caution.

Considering LRE in Placement Decisions(link is external)

The IRIS Center website(link is external) - Online interactive resources that translate research about the education of students with disabilities into practice. Materials cover a wide variety of evidence-based topics, including behavior, RTI, learning strategies, and progress monitoring.

LRE for Students with IEPs Ages 3 through 5 (Indicator 6)

Early Learning and Development Guidelines (DEL & OSPI) - This document provides parents and teachers with information about what children can do and learn at different stages of development.

Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute(link is external) - This website provides research based resources related to early childhood inclusion including An Administrator's Guide to Preschool Inclusion(link is external)

Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA Center) Inclusion webpage(link is external) - This technical assistance center is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs. The website contains information on a wide range of topics related to inclusion. The inclusion homepage contains a searchable database of resources.

OSPI Early Childhood Special Education Web site - This webpage contains resources for special education staff and administrators related to preschool inclusion.