Least Restrictive Environment is the setting in which a student with a disability can be educated with general education peers to the greatest extent appropriate. Educational placement refers to the educational environment for the provision of special education and related services rather than a specific place, such as a specific classroom or school. The IEP team makes the decision about the child's educational placement. For children with disabilities, the special education and related services must be provided in the environment that is least restrictive, with the general education classroom as the initial consideration. The team’s decision must be based on the child's needs, goals to be achieved, and the least restrictive environment for services to be provided. “Least restrictive environment” (LRE) means the child is provided special education and related services with peers who are not disabled, to the maximum extent appropriate. The IEP team must consider how the child with a disability can be educated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate, and how he or she will participate with children without disabilities in other activities such as extracurricular and nonacademic activities.
Placement decisions for all children with disabilities, including preschool children with disabilities, must be determined annually, be based on the child’s IEP, and be as close as possible to the child’s home. Additionally, each child with a disability must be educated in the school the child would attend if the child did not have a disability, unless the child’s IEP requires some other arrangement. LRE does not require that every child with a disability be placed in the general education classroom regardless of the child’s individual abilities and needs. The law recognizes that full time general education classroom placement may not be appropriate for every child with a disability. LEAs must make available a range of placement options, known as a continuum of alternative placements, to meet the unique educational needs of children with disabilities. This requirement for a continuum reinforces the importance of the individualized inquiry, not a “one size fits all” approach, in determining what placement is the LRE for each child with a disability. The continuum of alternative educational placements include instruction in general education classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions (34 CFR § 300.115(b)(1).
For preschool children ages 3 through 5 with disabilities, placement and LRE requirements are the same as for school-aged children. This means that preschool children with disabilities must have a continuum of placement options available and have the right to be educated with their peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. As with school-aged children, the needs of preschoolers are to be considered individually by the team in order to determine the most appropriate setting for services to be provided. Most preschoolers benefit from placement in a preschool program with typically developing peers.
If a preschool child with a disability is already attending a general education preschool program, the IEP team should consider whether special education and related services can be provided in that setting with the use of supplementary aids and services, or supports for LEA personnel (Federal Register, August 14, 2006, p. 46589).
Various educational placement options are possible, both within the community and at the school. The full continuum of placement options, including integrated placement options with typically developing peers, must be available to preschool children with disabilities. For children who are age 5 by September 1, kindergarten would be the least restrictive environment, to the extent appropriate.
Listed below are the placement options for ages 6-21.
IEP Process Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)