According to the law, a student with a disability must be placed in the least restrictive environment possible and should only be removed from the regular classroom if his disability is so severe that even with extra aid and help, the student cannot learn in that environment.

This means that even if you don't teach a special-needs class, you will have many students throughout your teaching career who are disabled in one form or another. Many of these students will have learning disabilities that will not be apparent, but others will have disabilities that are very apparent to the rest of your class.

Arguments for Full Inclusion

The idea of full inclusion is still considered controversial by some people. Proponents of full inclusion believe that this system is necessary to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all students. If learning-disabled students are not allowed to join the general school population, they will be missing out on the same education as those in the mainstream. Further, there will be a stigma associated with them for attending special classes, and they will never be able to feel as if they are really part of the school. Therefore, unless their disability precludes them from being able to learn in the normal classroom, they should be placed there.

Another reason for full inclusion is that regular students have the opportunity to see the special-needs students as part of their class. The hope is that the more nondisabled students are around those with disabilities, the less prejudice there will be against them. The interaction will help broaden the horizons of all students and lead to a better, more congenial educational experience for all. The different perspective of the students with disabilities will add to the class as a whole.

Arguments Against Full Inclusion

Those who are against the idea of full inclusion also have a range of arguments to support their opinion. For one thing, parents of disabled children sometimes fear that full inclusion will lead to less — not more — attention for their students. According to L. H. Cohen in Train Go Sorry: Inside a Deaf World, the deaf community is concerned that full inclusion places their language and culture at risk. Further, some advocates argue that the needs of highly gifted students cannot be met in the regular classroom.

Another argument used against full inclusion is that increased exposure of disabled to nondisabled students does not necessarily lead to greater acceptance. Instead, students with disabilities are faced with even greater amounts of prejudice and name-calling. This is especially true for students who are the slowest or the fastest learners.

When a teacher has to spend extra time making accommodations so that the students with disabilities understand a lesson, students without disabilities may complain and make the disabled students feel embarrassed. Similarly, when gifted students learn everything very fast, other students might make fun of them. While teachers can work against this, they are not always successful. Students may just wait until the teacher is not around or listening to make their comments.