Educating Students with Severe Handicaps in Regular Classes

Many students with mild to moderate handicaps have been integrated into regular educational settings since the passage of Public Law 94-142. Students with severe handicaps, however, remain the most segregated group in American public schools. In this article we review the growing philosophical, legal, and empirical support for allowing students with severe handicaps to attend regular classes with their chronological-age peers. Advantages of integration for students with and without handicaps are presented. We assert that the resources and instructional technology needed to integrate students with severe handicaps effectively are currently available. Further, these resources could aid large numbers of nonhandicapped students who are failing in the current educational system. Examples including alternative teacher roles, flexible options for grouping students, peer tutoring, special-friends systems, and computer-assisted instruction are provided.