IEP Process
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
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.
In Enrich IEP there are several steps to be completed by the IEP team to address the LRE concerns for the individual student. First, the user will select the placement option that best describes the student’s placement for the program developed by the IEP team.
The user will then identify how the student’s instruction in the core content areas will be delivered by checking all the delivery models that will be used.
Specific directions related to the student’s placement of the delivery of instruction should be detailed in the text box provided.
Users will then indicate whether the student will be removed from general education for any part of the school day.
If the student will be removed for any part of the school day, the user will select any activities in which the student WILL NOT participate with non-exceptional students in the general education classroom and/or in extracurricular and other non-academic activities.
After identifying the activities in which the student will not participate with non-exceptional student, the user will provide a justification for why the student is being removed from general education for any part of the school day. For example, “Due to Johnny’s difficulties in the area of decoding which impact him in many areas of the curriculum, Johnny will be removed from the independent reading portion of his ELA class in order to receive specialized instruction in decoding. “ If all special education services are provided in the general education setting the user will note that the student is not removed from the general education setting and that all special education services are provided in the general education setting in the “Removal Justification” text box.
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).
In Enrich IEP, you will choose the placement option by selecting the radio button next to the appropriate placement option.
Enrich IEP allows users to select multiple placement options throughout the life of the IEP to capture any placement decisions made by the IEP team as a student moves from one school year to another or for high school students who may require varying levels of support throughout the school year as a result of block scheduling. Users may add additional placement options by clicking “Add Placement Date”, entering the placement date, and selecting the appropriate placement option.
Placement Options for Ages 3-5 (Early Childhood LRE)
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 key question for the IEP Team to consider is where this child would be if she or he did not have a disability. The full continuum of placement options, including integrated placement options with typically developing peers, must be available to preschool children with disabilities. Examples include Head Start, community-based preschools (may be in churches, whether or not religiously affiliated), child care centers or family child care homes, mothers’-day-out programs, Title I programs, at-risk 4-year-old preschools, migrant or bilingual programs, play groups, and other such early childhood programs. For children who are age 5 by September 1, kindergarten would be the least restrictive environment, to the extent appropriate.
See below for the Early Children LRE Placement Options:
- In Regular Education at least 10 hrs. per week – EC Program
- In Regular Education at least 10 hrs. per week – Other Location
- In Regular Education at least 10 hrs. per week – EC Program
- Separate Class
- In Regular Education less than 10 hrs. per week – Other Location
- Home
- Service Provider Location
- In the Regular Early Childhood Program at least 80% of the time
Placement Options for Ages 6-21
Listed below are the placement options for ages 6-21.
- General Education Classroom
- Special Education Classroom: A separate classroom within a school where students with disabilities receive direct, specially designed instruction.
- Resource: A service model in which students with disabilities are removed from the general education setting for no more than 60% of the school day
- Self-Contained: A service model in which students with disabilities are removed from the general education setting for 61% or more of the school day
- Separate School: A school which is specifically designed, staffed and resourced to provide services for students with disabilities.
- Homebound/Hospital: Medical homebound instruction is provided for students who are unable to attend school because of illness, accident or pregnancy even with the assistance of transportation.
- Homebased: Instruction provided for student who, due to the nature and severity of their behavior cannot be educated in a traditional or separate school setting.
- Residential Facility: A facility operated for the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and care of two (2) or more children and/or adolescents in need of mental health treatment.
- Correctional Facilities: Municipal or county jail, a local detention facility, or a state correctional facility used for the detention of persons charged with or convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, municipal offense, or violation of a court order.
The team must consider each child’s unique educational needs and circumstances, rather than the child’s category of disability. Placement decisions should allow the child with a disability to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate. The first placement option considered for each child with a disability is the general education classroom in the school that the child would attend if not disabled, with appropriate supplementary aids and services to facilitate this placement. Therefore, before a child with a disability can be placed outside of the general education environment, the full range of supplementary aids and services that could be provided to facilitate the child’s placement in the general education classroom setting must be considered. Following that consideration, if a determination is made that the child with a disability cannot be educated satisfactorily in the general educational environment, even with the provision of appropriate supplementary aids and services, that child could be placed in a setting other than the general education classroom.
A child’s removal from the general education environment cannot be based solely on the category of disability, configuration of the delivery system, availability of special education and related services, availability of space or administrative convenience.
The decision to place a student in a more restrictive setting is always an IEP team decision. The first consideration for ANY student with a disability must be the general education setting. In order for IEP teams to make sound decisions, they may wish to systematically look at the activities that students participate in throughout the school day and the level of support required for each activity. A
Classroom Activity Analysis Worksheet may be completed for each student prior to or during an IEP meeting to provide teams with a decision-making tool when determining the Least Restrictive Environment.
To continue to the next step in the IEP Process: Extended School Year, click Next below.
