On Monday, September 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a joint statement on inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the policy statement, click here.
The policy statement has, once again, brought the topic of inclusion to a higher level of awareness and consciousness for some. For others, however, the paper represents just another step in a long journey toward equality for all citizens. A journey where inclusion is recognized as a right not a choice, as the rule not the exception, and to experience full and meaningful inclusion not just access.
The policy statement also inspired this post, which is from guest blogger Dr. Andrew Goff.
From Andrew:
After reading the position statement, I was inspired to take pen to paper (actually fingers to keyboard) and share a few thoughts on how I’ve seen inclusion progress through a series of three stages.
Stage 1: Litigation and legal statutes stormed the field of early childhood education throughout the middle 20th Century. Families and advocates rode the wave of civil rights, following behind the monumental passage of P.L. 94-142 in 1975.
The statute promised education for children 3 to 21, however, 3 to 5 and 18 to 21 were optional. This fight and that fight led to the introduction of P.L. 99-457 in 1986, which extended down to birth and mandated the expansion for the rights of children with disabilities from 6 through 18 to include birth through 21. Both statutes were part of a law that was later given the name, ‘The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)”.
Writing a law is one thing. Putting it into practice, well that’s been much more difficult.
Stage 2: P.L. 99-457 provided more attention toward including young children in their natural environments and general education classrooms.
Many teachers and families did not know exactly what they were doing, but they attempted inclusive practices because it was both the right and legal thing to do. Since 1986, the progress toward inclusive practices has experienced progress for some children; but practices are far from meeting the vision of P.L. 99-457 and later amendments.
IDEA states, “To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled.” During my nine years as an early childhood classroom teacher, I witnessed the barriers created by school district policies and social biases excluding far more often than including young children with disabilities.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way and advocates for inclusion have not backed down.
Stage 3: From an advocate’s standpoint, the verdict on inclusion in #ECE was out before the turn of the 21st Century. However, despite the overwhelming body of research supporting inclusive practices, as of 2014, fewer than 50% of children with disabilities were being included in early childhood general education.
On September 14th, The Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs recognized both realities and declared enough is enough. The document outlines a guiding vision for national, state and local policies. Recommendations provide leaders, practitioners and families with information that was previously scattered across websites, journals, books and other hard-to-access publications.
This policy statement on inclusion provides a pathway for all who are invested in inclusive practices to participate in the transformation of early childhood education. With this document in hand, leaders, practitioners and families can begin implementing policy and evidence-based (DEC recommended practices) practices so that all children can be educated with non-disabled peers in natural environments as outlined by IDEA.
The joint policy statement on inclusion is much more than the typical joint policy statement.
Call to Action: The Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs gives advocates, of inclusion in early childhood education, a tool more powerful than anything previously available.
All of the information needed to spark a change within a state, school district and/or community is neatly organized within one document. Take this and disseminate it with pride and confidence. Create a brief to share with colleagues or introduce a document link to followers with an eloquent 144 character tweet.
This policy statement validates the hard work advocates have been doing for more than three decades. As P.L. 99-457 closed the door on Stage 1, the joint policy statement can close the door on Stage 2.
There is no turning away from inclusion in early childhood education and IDEA any longer.
The faster we can spread the word, the faster we can make the full transition into Stage 3 where the concern is with implementation and adults, rather than the inclusion and children.
Then, one day, years down the road, something will bring us to Stage 4 – the end of labels, where the education of every young child will be called early childhood special education. So please, use the social share icons at the bottom of this message/post to help increase public understanding and awareness of issues related to inclusion.
Guest blogger Andrew Goff, Ed.D. (@AndrewDLGoff)
Andrew was an early childhood educator for twelve years, nine of which were enjoyed as a special education classroom teacher. He has grown through the up and downs of inclusion many times over. His passion for inclusive programming and practices has guided his work in school districts, community colleges, and universities. However, his greatest source of inspiration comes from his two young children. He currently serves as faculty in the Early Childhood Education Department at the Community College of Aurora in Colorado. His research interests include critical theory in early childhood education, social justice and equity in early childhood classrooms, and social justice and equity in personnel preparation. You can connect with Andrew on Facebook and LinkedIn.
