Education Week: ‘Least-Restrictive Environment’ Must Be Considered at Workplace, Too

Too often, when students with disabilities are moving from school to the workplace—a phase typically called transition—some of the basic tenets of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are ignored, said Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, managing attorney for Disability Rights Wisconsin.

That includes being placed in the least restrictive environment—in other words, with nondisabled peers to the extent possible.

“We have long been concerned that children with disabilities in general were not getting what they needed in transition,” he said. For too long, “transition” meant a pipeline to work in a segregated environment, often at so-called sheltered workshops, which typically pay less than minimum wage, he said, “without any real conversation about whether this was appropriate. What about a job coach? What about assistive technology? [These are] all the things they consider for the classroom environment?

via ‘Least-Restrictive Environment’ Must Be Considered at Workplace, Too.

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