The answer to this important question must not depend on the philosophies of the adults involved but on the individual needs of the child. Placement of a child may not be a foregone conclusion based on identified disabilities or program availability. No child should categorically or automatically be considered for a separate class, school, or a full-time, regular education placement. Critical to the provision of appropriate programming for an individual child are the essential skills and attitudes of the adults providing the services. When a child can be included more fully in regular education, everyone is involved.
All individuals share an obligation.
This obligation includes a commitment to systematic education and re-education to increase the sensitivity of administrators, teachers, and other staff to the possibilities that children with disabilities can receive a more integrated education. Responsiveness to a child's changing needs requires the ability of staff to flexibly deliver programming within the context of what is least restrictive for the child. DPI policies must do more than enable local school districts to explore programming options which embody fuller inclusion. Because of this need for professional development, the DPI has committed substantial discretionary resources for the next three years to an initiative focused on evaluating the effectiveness of various inclusion strategies throughout the state. In addition, DPI, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and several local school districts, has submitted an application to the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs on systems change for inclusion practices.