Between 2000 and 2008, the percentage of students with learning disabilities who spent more than 80 percent of their school time in regular classrooms increased from 40 to 62 percent, according to a National Center for Learning Disabilities report. The rise is the result of changes in federal law as well as evolving thinking on the academic needs of special education students.
Source: NCLD, “The State of Learning Disabilities,” 2011
But are general education teachers being fully prepped to work with students with learning disabilities? The NCLD reports that only 60 percent of students with learning disabilities have general education teachers who receive information about their learning needs. And only about half of general education teachers receive advice from special educators or other school staff members on how to cater to the specific needs of students with learning disabilities.
Those gaps point to a need for more teacher training on the characteristics and instructional strategies essential to success for these students, the NCLD says.
