Least restrictive environment means that placement of students with disabilities in special classes, separate schools or other removal from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that even with use of supplementary aids and services, education in regular classes cannot be satisfactorily achieved. The placement of an individual student with a disability in the least restrictive environment shall:
a) Provide the special education and related services, as well as supplementary aids and services, needed by the student. The term “related services” does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, the optimization of the device’s functioning (e.g., mapping), maintenance of, or the replacement of such device;
b) Provide for education of the student to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student with other students who do not have disabilities; and
c) Be as close as possible to the student’s home.
The District has an obligation, pursuant to law and regulation, to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The School District shall ensure that:
a) Placement is based on the student’s individualized education program and determined at least annually;
b) Placement is as close as possible to the student’s home, and unless the student’s individualized education program requires some other arrangement, the student shall be educated in the school he/she would have attended if not disabled;
c) In selecting the least restrictive environment, consideration will be given to any potential harmful effect on the student or on the quality of services that he/she needs; and
d) A student with a disability will not be removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely because of needed modifications in the general education curriculum.
The District shall ensure that a continuum of alternative placements, in accordance with law and/or regulation, will be available to meet the needs of students with disabilities. To enable students with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled students to the maximum extent appropriate, specially designed instruction and supplementary services may be provided in the regular class, including, as appropriate, related services, consultant teacher services, paraprofessional support, resource room services, integrated co-teaching, and special class programs within the general education classroom.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 20 USC Section 1400 et seq.
34 CFR Part 300
Education Law Sections 4401-4410-a
8 NYCRR Sections 100.5, 100.9, 200.1(cc), 200.1(qq), 200.2(b), 200.4 and 200.6
Adopted March 20, 2017