Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act currently known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 1975. This law was reauthorize in 1997 and has changed the face of public education in the United States and continues to influence reform in education today. IDEA specifies that all children, including those with disabilities are entitled

· Professional development for all teachers involved, general and special ed. alike

Advocates also believe that full inclusion reduces the stigma attached to a separate placement that is detrimental to the self-esteem of a child. Academic achievement is not the only purpose of education. “Integrating a handicapped child into a nonhandicapped environment may be beneficial in and of it self …even if the child cannot flourish academically.” They further believe that inclusion is more efficient. They believe that students with disabilities lose valuable time from general education class activities during pullout times in which students go to resource rooms. The school day may become fragmented which results in a lack of generalization skills.

Proponents of maintaining the continuum of services argue that there currently is no research evidence to support the elimination of the continuum of services. “No data exits to demonstrate that students with disabilities who are fully included outperform students who receive special services in other settings.” Some evidence suggests that many students with disabilities perform better in resource room models or other special education settings.”

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