The New Segregation: An Analysis of Current Contexts of Inclusive Education

Overview & Synopsis

The decision handed down by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education was not only a legal victory for African Americans in the United States, but all groups who were forced into exclusionary environments. In the shadows of Brown, advocates began seeking reforms that would allow students with disabilities to receive their education alongside their non-disabled peers based on legal concepts like least restrictive environment (LRE) and mandates outlined in political policies such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which set in motion the idea of inclusion within the general education classroom. However, many argue that inclusion has not eliminated the existence of segregation in the classroom. In fact, some current practices are considered to be separation tactics in disguise, imposing on the rights of children with disabilities to fully accessing the general education curriculum through homogeneous grouping and tracking.