New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is pushing for more inclusion of students with disabilities in public schools, reports The New York Times.
To meet the needs of the increasing number of students with disabilities and bring the city’s schools in line with the national trend toward inclusion, Bloomberg is overhauling special education by asking every principal to take in more of the students and allowing greater flexibility in deciding how to teach them, the article said.
More than 250 schools will have to accept more students with disabilities this coming school year, rather than send them to the schools that have special programs for such students, which was the practice for decades, the story said.
By September 2011, under Bloomberg’s plan, only the students with the most severe disabilities should be attending schools reserved for students with special needs, the story said.
