Expert answer
I think that people use the word inclusion inappropriately a lot. They talk about inclusive classrooms or inclusive students or inclusion teachers, and to me inclusion is a philosophy or a belief that all students belong and that all students will benefit from a continuum of services.
What has happened often in special education is we take a categorical approach to placing students. So if a student has this label, then this is the classroom they go to. And the federal law really says that students should be placed in the least restrictive setting and if they’re not successful there, then supports and aids are added to help them be successful in those settings.
But I think unfortunately too often what happens is that students start in the most restrictive setting and they have to earn their way into a less restrictive setting.