Academic, Social, and Behavioral Adjustment for Students Declassified from Special Education

Each year 7% of Michigan's special education students return to full-time general education programs through declassification. In a preliminary investigation of declassification from special education, the authors analyzed data collected by the Michigan Department of Education over the past 5 years. Respondents suggested that, as a group, students declassified from special education are academically, socially, and behaviorally well adjusted; but teachers or counselors of 11% of the declassified students felt that these students continued to require special education services. Within 3 years, 4% of declassified students had returned to special education. Particularly noteworthy were the relatively poor results for declassified students with emotional impairments.