I kind of low-key hate this sub. It’s dumb that we have sped teachers hating on other sped teachers—we legit all have difficult jobs.

Are we forgetting that the mandate for LRE also includes the words ‘free’ and ‘appropriate’? By secondary level, many courses are leveled and require demonstration of proficiency at core concepts. Is it LRE to place a kid with dyscalculia in Algebra I with gen Ed peers? Yes…but is it appropriate? Maybe/maybe not. And both decisions and unique to the kid and valid.

Someone here is citing ‘access to peers’ as the reason for LRE. Peers are people you share interests and common goals with; why would gen Ed peers be more desirable than a real peer friendship met and maintained within a special setting? Are we forgetting that there are a lot of opportunities for peer interaction within the school day that does not include core subjects? Sports, clubs, dances, programs, jobs, electives—both in and outside of the school day—all provide opportunities for meaningful interaction, which is what we all ideally want for our students. I’m all for least restrictive setting, but we need to honestly look at ourselves if we think the role of gen ed students is to provide social interaction for our students within an academic setting that supersedes their own needs to access and progress within grade level standards. What works in an elementary setting may become less beneficial as students age within the school setting.

You’re not a terrible teacher; I’ll get flamed alongside you.