If you’re a parent in an IEP meeting and you hear the term “least restrictive environment” (LRE), I want you to understand what it really means—and what it means for your child.
After the Brown v. Board of Education decision, national conversations about integration expanded, not just around race, but also around ability. Later court rulings determined that people with disabilities could not be confined to institutions if “less restrictive measures” could safely support them in the community. This is where the concept of the least restrictive environment started showing up in legal decisions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Then came the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)—now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This law mandated that students with disabilities must be educated in the least restrictive environment possible. In practice, this often meant placing them in general education classrooms alongside their neurotypical peers.
By the 1980s, the conversation around inclusion grew. Individuals with disabilities have the right not only to be present in their communities, but also to participate in them as well.
In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed. It required public institutions to provide services in the “most integrated setting”—defined as the setting where people with disabilities can interact with nondisabled individuals to the fullest extent possible.
Stay with me - I know that’s a lot.
Within the timespan of a few decades, individuals with disabilities went from being institutionalized to being integrated into society to the greatest extent possible.
Do I think this is progress? Absolutely. Do I think that just placing students into general ed classrooms and bidding them good luck is enough? Absolutely not.
If we really care about our students participating in inclusive settings, we can’t just place them there and expect them to adapt. Their brains are wired differently.
Imagine being lactose intolerant and being told your only food options from now on are dairy products. You wouldn’t adapt. You’d get sick. Because that’s not what your body needs.
The same is true for our neurodivergent students. We cannot expect them to thrive in a setting built for neurotypical learners without providing the accommodations they need. Without the right supports, that environment becomes more restrictive, not less.
Here is where we, as parents and professionals, come in. We need to make sure that the Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) we write are, in fact, individualized.
What is appropriate and accessible for one autistic person may not be for another.
You might need headphones when there are more than three people around, so you can focus. Without them, the noise of a general ed classroom might overwhelm you and make learning impossible.
I might need access to a quiet room every twenty minutes to regulate myself so I can participate. If I don’t have that space, I may spend so much energy trying to cope that I can’t actually engage.
What is least restrictive to some may not be for others.
LRE doesn’t always mean maximum time in a general education setting. And it definitely doesn’t mean doing so without appropriate support.
You know your child best. If you know what they need - sensory supports, regulation breaks, alternative communication - advocate for them. Your child has a legal right to an education in the environment that is least restrictive for them.
Whatever that looks like.
~Chloe