The concept of access to the general education curriculum was deliberately included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 so Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams would ensure that students with disabilities would receive the same curricular content as their same-age peers. In this article, a process for determining how to access the general education curriculum is described based on recent research findings and best practice for effective instruction, along with suggestions for transforming the general education curriculum so that more students with disabilities will have access. The following three steps are guides for determining access opportunities:
After completing the three-step process, educators can determine the setting in which access to the general education curriculum for a given student can best occur. When quality decisions and responsive actions occur as a result of using the three steps, setting or placement decisions may include the general education classrooms as a viable option in an increasing number of instances.
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