The number of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms across the country jumped substantially in recent years, according to a new government report.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that there were 1.1 million more students with disabilities in general education classrooms at least 40% of the day during the 2023-2024 school year as compared to a decade prior. That’s a 25% rise.
Growth in inclusion was largely driven by the number of children with disabilities who spent at least 80% of their day in classes alongside their typically developing peers, the report out this month from Congress’ investigative arm found.
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The rise was seen across most disability types, though investigators said that children with specific learning disability, speech or language impairment and other health impairment remained the most common in general education classes.
The trend toward inclusive settings occurred in most states. However, there was more variation at the school district level, GAO found. Districts with higher and lower poverty levels, those without standalone special education schools and districts with less funding per student tended to have higher rates of students with disabilities in general education classes.
GAO investigators interviewed school officials in three states who cited resource availability, parental involvement in educational placement decisions and school environment as factors influencing where students are served.
Robyn Linscott, director of education and family policy at The Arc of the United States, characterized the GAO findings as “good news,” but said there is still more work to do, noting variation in inclusion by state and disability.
“The report shows overall progress, but that progress isn’t reaching every group in the same way,” she said. “While schools have gotten better at supporting students with autism in the general education classroom, more work needs to be done to meaningfully include students with intellectual disability and multiple disabilities.”
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that children with disabilities be provided a free appropriate public education in the “least restrictive environment.”
During the decade-long period that GAO studied, investigators noted that the total number of students with disabilities increased 21%.
