The LRE Mandate, Components and Standards
It is required, under IDEA, for students with disabilities to be educated in a setting with their nondisabled peers when deemed appropriate. There are a couple parts to the LRE requirement of the IDEA.
- The first addresses possible right of all students with disabilities to receive and education along with students without disabilities. Schools must make all efforts to place and maintain students the least restrictive environment. The law does recognize that there may be situations when the placement of a student will need to be in a more restrictive setting in order to provide an appropriate education.
- Before students are placed in a more restrictive setting, the LRE mandate also requires that an effort must be made to keep the student in a less restrictive setting. To keep the students in this less restrictive area the school should provide services or supplementary aids. Only when an appropriate education cannot be given to the student, even with the services or aids, may they be placed in a more restrictive environment.
- State educational agencies are required, under IDEA, to ensure that LRE requirements are provided to students in a school setting. States must also make sure that teachers and administration are informed on the requirements of the LRE.
Congress and The Department of Education recognizes that, even through mainstreaming is preferred in educating students with disabilities, sometimes there are situations when the students disability might not be suitable for learning in regular education classroom. Therefore the act will provide education for some handicapped children when in a separate classes or settings.
Reference:
Yell, Mitchell L. (2012) The Law and Special Education: Third Addition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Yell, Mitchell L. (2012) The Law and Special Education: Third Addition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.