Special education programs fall in two general types: inclusion and exclusion. Inclusion means that students receive all of their special education resources in the regular education classroom. Partial inclusion programs have students take part in select courses with regular education students and other courses in a special education classroom. With exclusion programs, special education students learn in specialized settings and do not interact with regular education students.
Through IDEA, schools are required to consider an inclusion program for special education students. Placing students within a regular education classroom for at least a portion of the school day provides the opportunity to improve their social skills. In a regular education setting, students are guaranteed to receive instruction on grade-level. Inclusion programs are also beneficial to teachers because they require them to learn new teaching strategies to reach special education students. Regular education students benefit from inclusion programs by learning to interact with individuals with disabilities.
Some students with severe disabilities or behavior problems are unable to function in a regular education classroom and are not served well through an inclusion program. If students are placed in large regular education classrooms, it may be difficult for teachers to accommodate them and provide the individualized attention necessary to help special education students experience success. Inclusion programs are often expensive because, in many cases, aides are required to accompany special education students to their classes.
For students with severe disabilities, an exclusion program provides a safe environment where students do not have to fear being ridiculed or misunderstood. Teachers in exclusion settings are specially trained to deal with students with all types of disabilities, whereas teachers in a regular classroom setting often require extra training to teach special education students. Exclusion programs offer smaller class sizes where students receive individualized instruction at their level, rather than on their expected grade-level, and are rewarded for any progress that they make.
Exclusion programs isolate special education students from their peers and the general student population, often opening up them up to ridicule when they face non-disabled students. Students tend to learn at a lower level in exclusion programs and often do not receive higher level opportunities to show what they know. Exclusion programs are also expensive because small class sizes require more aides and teachers to work with students on an individual basis.