The Regular Education Initiative and School Reform

This article develops two mainstream education perspectives on the Regular Education Initiative (REI). The first perspective draws on 20 years of research and practice about school improvement and the implementation of innovations. Nine understandings about school improvement are documented and discussed. The second perspective is grounded in the current movement to restructure schools. Similarities between the restructuring movement and the REI are discussed. In the final section, the author argues for the development of a partnership between classroom teachers and special education aimed at a fundamental rethinking and redesign of the organization of schools and the way in which teaching and learning occur.