THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT: LEGAL AND EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the legal mandate of the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirement from P.L. 94-142 and to draw pertinent conclusions which would facilitate its implementation.;Findings and Conclusions. (1) Public Law 94-142 and Section 504 require public schools to provide handicapped children, between five and eighteen years, a free appropriate public education in the LRE. (2) When assessment procedures used to evaluate handicapped children are proven to be discriminatory, those practices may violate the requirement for the LRE. (3) School districts may not routinely segregate all handicapped children in separate educational facilities. (4) The courts will not proscribe special day schools or residential schools because of the requirement for the LRE. (5) Where a handicapped child demonstrates an inability to progress in a less restrictive setting, the courts will mandate placement in a more restrictive environment. (6) Where evidence indicates that a child could profit from a less restrictive enviroment, the courts will generally require it. (7) The LRE does not give handicapped children the right to attend a particular regular education building in lieu of another. (8) Expulsion of a handicapped child is viewed as a change of placement and protected by the LRE. (9) Courts will require certain related services when the availability will allow the child to remain in a less restrictive environment.;Procedures. The method of investigation employed in this study was documentary analysis. The table of cases was compiled from the West Digest System and secondary source material. Each case was carefully analyzed to provide the basis for the findings and conclusions.