Slow Progress Toward Inclusion

Slow Progress Toward Inclusion—NJSBA Study

This is one of a series of articles that will focus on various findings and recommendations of the NJSBA-commissioned report, “Financing Special Education in New Jersey.”

New Jersey’s public schools have made slow progress in placing special education students in less restrictive settings, according to “Financing Special Education in New Jersey,” the NJSBA-commissioned study of special education funding and practices released on Sept. 20.

The report, by researchers Mari Molenaar and Michael Luciano, found that among special education students –

The percentage placed in general education settings for more than 80 percent of the school day remained relatively unchanged from 1995 through 2005.
The proportion who spend 40 to 80 percent of the school day in general education increased slightly, while those who spend less than 40 percent of their time in general education decreased slightly.
The proportion placed in separate settings (e.g., specialized public schools and private schools for the handicapped) remained relatively unchanged, at 9.9 percent.

Most Restrictive “New Jersey continues to have a larger proportion of students in more restrictive placement settings than all other states,” wrote Molenaar and Luciano. “The state with the next highest percentage in separate settings is Massachusetts (7.2 percent compared to New Jersey’s 9.9 percent).

In New Jersey, “the students in these separate settings were mostly eligible under the categories of Multiply Disabled, Emotionally Disturbed and Autism,” they reported.

Small Districts: Most Inclusive Smaller school districts and/or those serving lower grade levels tend to place higher proportions of their students in general education for a larger part of the school day, according to the report.

K-6 and small K-8 districts, for example, place approximately 53 percent of their special education students in general education classes for more than 80 percent of the school day. Generally, as enrollment and grade level increase, the percentage of students in more inclusive settings decreases.

Ways to Improve The Sept. 20 report included recommendations that, the researchers believe, would enable districts to successfully place more students in less restrictive settings, including—

State-supported pre-service and in-service training on special education topics for general education teachers and training for instructional aides.
Investment in more in-district programs for seriously disabled students, including programs for children with autism.
Distribution of state aid in a way that (a) minimizes incentives to increase the classification rate and (b) promotes placements in less-restrictive settings.

“There will always be a need for specialized schools,” said NJSBA Executive Director Edwina M. Lee. “However, special education students benefit both educationally and socially from interacting with their non-disabled peers. The report recommends that we create more programs to make that possible.”

“Financing Special Education in New Jersey” also calls for increased levels of state special education funding to reduce property taxes, curricular enhancements, improvements to state and federal data collection, and changes in state regulation.

Your Opinion The report also includes a survey for school board members and administrators on priorities for special education reform.

At Workshop The report’s findings and recommendations will be explored during a special group session at Workshop 2007 on Thursday, Oct. 25 from 10:45 a.m. to noon in Room 402 of the Atlantic City Convention Center. The session, open to all Workshop participants, is sponsored by the NJSBA Urban Boards Committee.