ABSTRACT
Theoverridingpolicyissueinspecialeducationinthe1990shasbeenthe assignmentofstudentstoaplaceofschooling.Manyspecialeducation reformershavecenteredattentionontheleastrestrictiveenvironment(LRE) provisionsoftheIndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationAct(IDEA),suggestingthattheinclusionofallstudentswithdisabilitiesingeneraleducation classesintheirneighborhoodschools-andonlysuchinclusion-willfulfill theletterandspiritofthelaw(e.g.,Gartner&Lipsky,1989;Laski,1991; Lipsky&Gartner,1991;Stainback&Stainback,1991).Policymakers'enthusiasmforinclusionrhetoricandtheassumptionthatthegeneraleducation classroomintheneighborhoodschoolis,infact,leastrestrictiveforall studentshasresultedinrapiderosionofplacementoptionsforstudents withdisabilities,especiallythoseidentifiedinthecategoriesoflearning disabilities,emotionalandbehavioraldisorders,andmildmentalretardation.Manycommunitieshaveseenthenot-so-gradualdisappearanceof specialself-containedclasses,andinsomeschoolspull-outprogramsofany kindhavevirtuallydisappeared.
