Including Children with Special Needs: A Perspective

Publication Date: January 1994

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Ellen Fishman

Research Area: Education

Keywords: Religion; Education; Disability

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Federal law mandates that children with disabilities be provided a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The concept of inclusion, in which children with special needs receive their education in the regular classrooms with resource and support personnel present as needed, has many advocates, particularly among parents of special needs students. However, in religious schools, inclusion may prevent such children from obtaining a quality Jewish education. Therefore, children with special needs should be integrated into the mainstream only when educationally appropriate.