LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONEMENT

Placement in the Least Restrictive Environment

The placement of students with disabilities ages three through 21 in appropriate settings has been an integral part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) since its enactment. Three basic principles are included in the federal mandates. These are:
Placement is based on the student 's individualized education program;
Placement is in the least restrictive environment; and
A continuum of alternative placement options is available to all students with
disabilities.

Of these principles, the requirement to place students in the least restrictive environment has raised the most questions and generated the most discussion. Although this requirement has been included in Part B of the IDEA since 1975, consistent understanding and direction have emerged more recently through federal court decisions, the amendments of IDEA '97 and the final federal regulations that were published on March 12, 1999. In the Oberti decision of May 1993, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit established a three prong test for determining placement in the regular classroom. Because New Jersey is part of the Third Circuit, the Oberti decision with its three prong test is the standard for the state. The special education code was amended by the State Board of Education on April 5, 1995 to incorporate fully the three prong test of the Oberti decision. On July 6, 1998, the special education code was readopted as N.J.A.C. 6A:14. The section on least restrictive environment at N.J.A.C. 6:28-2.10 was amended to conform to the requirements of IDEA '97 and was recodified at N.J.A.C. 6A:14-4.2.

In light of the new federal and state requirements and in response to questions from the field, this memorandum is an effort to provide guidance on the issue of placement in the least restrictive environment. This memo will inform you of the current placement requirements, outline a decision-making process to assist in the determination of least restrictive environment and clarify the school district's responsibility in the placement process.
The IDEA requirement for placing students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment has three components:

To the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with students who are nondisabled;

Special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular classroom occurs only when the nature or severity of the educational disability is such that education in the regular class cannot be achieved satisfactorily with the use of supplementary aids and services; and

To the maximum extent appropriate, each child with a disability participates with nondisabled children in nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities.

These requirements demonstrate clearly the preference for educating students with disabilities in the regular classroom. However, the IDEA also requires that a full continuum of services be available to meet the needs of students with disabilities who cannot be educated in the regular classroom for part or all of the school day. Additional rules regarding placement require that each student with disabilities be educated as close to home as possible, and that each student be educated in the same school he or she would attend if not disabled, unless the individualized education program (IEP) specifies some other arrangement.

Lastly, placement must be based on the IEP.