Reply #48: Schools have a legal obligation to include special ed students in regular [View All]

as much as possible. And if the child has behaviors that could impede the learning of others, the school has an obligation to develop a behavior plan and provide supports which could include providing the child with an aide. You'd be amazed at how successful a well-implemented behavior plan can be in reducing problem behaviors.

As far as your comment about schools not having a requirement to teach compassion, I wholeheartedly disagree. Perhaps a lack of compassion and empathy is part of the reason that our country is in the abysmal situation in which we now find it.

And mainstreaming students with disabilities is about much more than "making things look good." Children with disabilities need to learn to function as independently as possible in the real world. You cannot segregate kids with disabilities and then somehow when they graduate, expect them to magically know how to survive in the real world.