Is this situation legally considered to be 'inclusion'?

[DebJ]

At one of the middle schools where I frequently work as a substitute teacher, I have become (painfully) aware of how the students with IEP's have been placed into 'inclusive' classrooms. One example is a seventh grade team with four classrooms. One of the four rooms has students who are at an advanced level; the other three are the 'regular' students...except that one of the classrooms of 25 students includes 15 students with IEPs. There is usually a regular ed and one special ed teacher in the room with them (except when I substitute). Worse yet, another classroom of fifth graders is comprised almost completely of ESL (English as a Second Language) students, and 15 of those 25 are also students with IEPs / learning difficulties.
Now, in the first case, if those 15 students were split into the three 'regular' classrooms, with only 5 students requiring extra assistance per class, even as a regular ed teacher, there would be some hope of progress. That is how this was done in the last few years. Before that, most of these students would have been placed in a classroom with only IEP students (and with reading materials for science and social studies that they could actually comprehend). The way it is, is just hideous. The second instance is just undescribably ludicrous.
I feel like these kids are basically being left to rot. Of course, this was done to eliminate 2 special ed teachers on each team, no doubt. Or else sheer stupidity and callousness.

My question, however, is this: is this legally considered being in an LRE and an inclusion setting? Adding 10 non-IEP students to 15 with IEPs qualifies as 'inclusion'?

[Catshrink]

1. Apparently.

That's the situation in our school for some classes. I taught one last year and it was terribly difficult with little discernable results. The biggest problems were attendance and disruptive students who had no interest in learning but had the attitude that because they were special ed I couldn't fail them. Their case manager convinced them otherwise but a couple did fail because of their attendance issues.

The teacher with them this year is pulling her hair out. I'm helping her with planning and ideas as much as I can but mostly just providing an ear. She actually has two classes like this in two subjects. In one of these, some 10th graders are at a 5th grade reading level. Our sped department doesn't have a subject matter specialist so she has to do all the modifications herself. It is hell. She came into my room yesterday ready to quit - one kid said "I'm not doing this fucking bullshit" and another, after he was asked to leave and refused, hit another student. Security and office personnel weren't available and she'd come to get my help. I got a male teacher to escort the two to the office.

A typical day for her. She says - and my experience corroborates this - that if the 3 or 4 disruptors were removed from the class the rest of the students would settle down and she could actually teach. But they're sped and there's no place else to put them.

[DebJ]

2. Update: now I found that 8 autistic children are in 1 classroom

with only one first-year teacher and one aide. One of the students, a large male of 8th grade age, has violent spurts and has already caused the teacher to have a concussion. Three of the students (all middle school age) are in diapers.

So it is not just education that is at risk, but the safety of the children in the room.

I am just sickened.

[Catshrink]

3. That's irresponsible of the administration.

In our state, hitting a teacher is a felony.

[spedtr90]

4. LRE should provide educational benefit

Just dumping in mainstream is so wrong. Parents would have a case to push for change. Any social benefit of mainstreaming is supposed to be subordinate to the requirement that disabled children receive educational benefit. If they are just dumping kids and there is no educational benefit, it is not the LRE and is not appropriate for the child. Also, mainstreaming is inappropriate when the handicapped child is a disruptive force in the inclusive setting. Parents, call PACER or a lawyer if they won't provide an appropriate setting.