| IDEA established that students with disabilities have a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) that is appropriate.What constitutes the LRE is now debated by educators, parents, disability rights advocates, policymakers, and the judicial system. The consensus is that the LRE is Environment 1, which has students with disabilities being within the general education setting 80 percent or more each day with access to the same education as their non-disabled peers. But does the inclusion of students in general education lead to better educational outcomes as measured by their standardized test scores?An OLS regression of ISAT scores and LRE placement showed that being in Environment 2 had a negative impact on ISAT scores;however,being in Environment 1 had no impact. Low standardized test scores are not affected by the LRE,which suggests that other factors may be the cause. |