Top scholar says evidence for special education inclusion is ‘fundamentally flawed’

A new analysis of 50 years of research argues that there isn’t strong evidence for the academic advantages of placing children with disabilities in general education classrooms.


Shutterstock 336099461This story about special education inclusion was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Proof Points and other Hechinger newsletters.

A prominent professor of special education is about to ignite a fierce debate over a tenet of his field, that students with disabilities should be educated as much as possible alongside their peers in general education classrooms, a strategy known as inclusion. 

In a paper that reviews more than 50 years of research, Douglas Fuchs of Vanderbilt University and the American Institutes for Research, along with two other researchers, argues that the academic benefits of including students with disabilities in general education classrooms are not settled science despite the fact that numerous studies have found that children with disabilities learn more that way. Fuchs said the paper is slated to be published this spring in the Journal of Learning Disabilities and he expects it to be made public online sooner. 

“We’re not saying that the evidence indicates full inclusion cannot work,” said Fuchs. “We’re saying that the evidence in terms of where to place these children is extremely weak, is fundamentally flawed, and no conclusions can be drawn from the evidence.”

Fuchs also notes that there is a growing body of high-quality research on how to teach children with disabilities or those at risk of being diagnosed with a disability. These studies are randomized controlled trials of interventions that require hours of intense, specialized instruction. For many, if not most, students with disabilities, Fuchs argues, a separate setting, such as a separate classroom or even a separate school, might be the best way to get the instruction they need. 

“Some number of kids with disabilities can and should be in general classrooms,” Fuchs said. “It’s manifestly obvious that they’re doing reasonably well. They should stay there. But for a majority, they need intensive instruction, and we know how to provide intensive instruction. The evidence is, I dare say, overwhelming.”

Fuchs’ view challenges hundreds of studies that have consistently found that inclusive educational settings have substantial benefits for the cognitive and social development of children with disabilities. That research has been instrumental in persuading lawmakers to increase funding to help schools accommodate students with disabilities, in some cases hiring extra special education teachers for every class. Roughly 15 percent of U.S. public school students have been diagnosed with a disability and receive services, according to the most recent data, so this debate over special education placement affects not only the academic prospects of students with disabilities but also the cost and structure of the whole educational system.

The paper, “Reframing the Most Important Special Education Policy Debate in Fifty Years: How versus Where to Educate Students with Disabilities in America’s Schools,” was co-authored by Allison Gilmour, a researcher of special education at the American Institutes for Research, and Jeanne Wanzek, a professor of special education at Vanderbilt. 

Read the full story on The Hechinger Report.