10 Reasons to Support Inclusive School Communities for ALL Students

Inclusive educational settings offer many varied opportunities to grow socially and academically. There are a wide range of curricular opportunities in general education that cannot be replicated in a separate system of special education. This is important because both IDEA and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) require that all students, including students with disabilities who take alternate assessments (i.e., those with the most significant cognitive disabilities), should be included in and make progress in the general education curriculum for the grade in which they are enrolled.

All children grow from encountering a variety of experiences. Inclusive settings also offer students many incidental opportunities to learn useful skills and repertoires, such as following typical daily routines, figuring out multiple ways to solve problems, using humor and sharing stories, and communicating effectively. Peers with and without disabilities model and teach each other socially valuable behavior.

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