There are 2 discussions. Please reponsd to both: 1. The topic I chose to focus

There are 2 discussions. Please reponsd to both:
1. The topic I chose to focus on for the historical review project is inclusion of special education students. Being a special education teacher who has taught in all age groups and types of service delivery settings, I certainly have my own opinions of what inclusion means. Through my 12 years of teaching, I have been at 5 different schools that all have a different idea of what inclusion means and what it looks like within their school setting. This topic is near and dear to my heart and I am hoping that further researching this topic will help me understand the effectiveness based on research and take my personal opinion out of the equation.
All too often I have seen students with disabilities forced into a particular setting due to a schools’ schedule offerings, rather than truly having a service delivery method that meets their individualized needs, as it should be. I am currently in the process of adjusting service time for 2 of my students, one needing more inclusion time, and the other needing a smaller group setting. I plan to dig deeper into the students who “fall through the cracks” of inclusion, both those that need more time in the general education setting and those who need less. In some cases, students who receive services with the inclusion model may “blend in” with their peers and appear to be following along with the grade level curriculum, when in reality they do not have the self-advocacy skills to speak up for themselves and ask for help when they do not understand a topic. On the other hand, you have students who are “stuck” in a self-contained classroom with minimal interaction with their non-disabled peers due to behaviors or a perceived lack of skills.
Lastly, I plan to look at the effects of inclusion on the non-disabled peers within the general education classroom and the impact on the general education teachers. Many general education teachers have a negative outlook on inclusion due to lack of understanding and training about various disabilities and how to best meet their needs (Politou, 2022). I am excited to dig into this topic that I have a lot of personal experience and feelings about so I can have a more educated outlook and be well versed on the effects of inclusion when discussing placement settings with parents and colleagues.
As we learn in the book of John referencing the blind man who was healed, “it was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (King James Bible, 1796/2017). I think about this often as I speak with parents of children with disabilities to remind myself to help them see the good and positive about their child as we discuss everything they are struggling with in IEP meetings. Despite disabilities, the works of God can be seen in everyone.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.orgLinks to an external site. (Original work published 1796).
Politou, T.C. (2002). Investigation of the feelings, attitudes, and concerns of special and general education teachers regarding the inclusive education of students with adhd. Online submission, 9. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru…
2. The topic I chose to focus on for the historical review project is the LRE and making legally sound placements. Having worked in non-public Special Education schools since 2011, I have held the position as a Special Education teacher, Assistant Director, as well as Special Education Director. In the state of Rhode Island, students are most likely outplaced to Special Education Day Schools due to the public school district not being able to service the students’ needs in accordance to their IEP. “The IDEA does not specifically define the term “placement”; however, the U.S. Department of Education has asserted that “placement refers to the provision of special education and related services rather than a specific place, such as a specific classroom or specific school””(Katsiyannis, Losinski & Bateman, 2020). I want to dive deeper into the true meaning of LRE and the procedures being followed to determine a child’s placement. I question if school districts are in direct violation of IDEA by prioritizing LRE over FAPE. Unfortunately, due to the lack of resources and teacher shortage that I am witnessing in Rhode Island, this seems to be the unfortunate case.
Further researching IDEA, LRE, and FAPE, will hopefully provide insight that I can apply to my current role of a Special Education Director. Working with almost every school district in Rhode Island, I see discrepancies in the continuum of Alternate Placements. The use of Supplementary Aids and Services and exhausting all options before changing a child’s placement to a more restrictive setting should be the standard. I am concerned that this continuum is being overshadowed for one reason or another. I am motivated to dive deeper into the cause of these discrepancies and understand the why, and how we are able to rectify some of these systemic issues.
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s 40th Annual report to Congress on the implementation of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2018, 94.9%, of the 6,048,882 students ages 6 – 21 served under IDEA, Part B, were educated in general education classrooms for at least some portion of the school day, 63.1% were educated in general education classrooms class 80% or more of the day, 18.3% were educated in general education classrooms no more than 79% of the day and no less than 40% of the day, 13.4% were educated in general education classrooms less than 40% of the day and 5.1% were educated outside of general education classrooms in “Other environments.” Although the trends over the last twenty five years exemplify an improvement in less students spending time outside of the general education classroom, the trends also indicate that that there is an increase of students with OHI and ASD being placed outside of the general educational setting. I also question if this is due to lack of resources, or lack of experience in managing challenging behaviors?
Yell, M. L., Katsiyannis, A., Ennis, R. P., Losinski, M., & Bateman, D. (2020). Making Legally Sound Placement Decisions. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52(5), 291–303. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059920906537lnks to an eernal site.Williamson, P., Hoppey, D., McLeskey, J., Bergmann, E., & Moore, H. (2020). Trends in LRE Placement Rates Over the Past 25 Years. The Journal of Special Education, 53(4), 236–244. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466919855052