| The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA 2004) dictates that children with disabilities, ages 3--5, must be provided educational services through the public school setting. Like their peers ages 5 and older, these children are subject to the legal requirement of being educated in the least restrictive environment possible to meet their overall educational needs. This study addresses the issue of how school districts throughout the state of Texas meet this legal mandate for the provision of educational services in the least restrictive environment for preschool-age children with disabilities.;Initially, the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) consultants from each of the 20 regional education service centers in the state of Texas were contacted and asked to submit school districts in their region, as appropriate, for potential participation in the study. Selected district administrators were contacted for potential participation in the study. Once informed consent was obtained from interested administrators or administrative designees, they individually participated in an online survey. The results of the survey were analyzed in order to determine the success of the preschool inclusion program in the district, as well as any barriers that were determined to be a hindrance in the development of the preschool inclusion program.;Analysis of the results of the surveys yielded information from the perspective of lived experiences of the individuals participating in the study. As the results were analyzed, themes emerged in relation to what is necessary to begin, build, and sustain a high-quality inclusion program for preschool-aged children with disabilities receiving a public school education in the state of Texas, as well as the barriers that school district administrators faced in building the inclusive program. |
