Inclusion Planning Guide

NC Early Learning Network is a joint project of the NC Department of Public Instruction,

Office of Early Learning, and UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (2014)

Introduction

Research suggests that communitypartners who work together to make high quality inclusive opportunities available for young children with disabilities are likely to increase positive outcomes for all children and families (NPDCI Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusion, 2009).

The goal of the North Carolina Preschool Inclusion Project is to assist school districts in increasing inclusive opportunities for young children with special needs and in decreasing the number of children being served in segregated or self-contained settings.

North Carolina data (FFY 2013) reports 23.8% of all 3, 4, and PreK 5 year olds with disabilities are served in separate special education settings.

While many factors may impactchild outcomes and success in school, high quality preschool hasclearly demonstrated a positive effect on children’s learning and development. Well-designed preschool education programs produce long-term school success, characterized byhigher achievement test scores, lower rates of grade repetition and special education, and higher educational attainment (Barnett, 2008). While attention has focused on the value of preschool education for children from disadvantaged and low socio-economic circumstance, research has shown that high quality preschool education programs benefit all children, including children from middle class backgrounds as well as children with special needs and children who are dual language learners (Investing in Our Future: the Evidence Base on Preschool Education, 2013).

In particular, children with disabilities who attend regular early childhood programs demonstrate higher social emotional gains. Inclusion has been cited as an evidence-based predictor of post-school success in Improving Post-School Independent Living Outcomes: Evidence-Based Secondary Transition Predictors. Research has shown that children receiving services in regular education settings were more likely to be engaged in post-school education, employment, and independent living (Blackorby et al., 1993).

Without a universal preschool program in North Carolina, the process of blending and integrating early childhood programs with different funding sources and program requirements necessitates collaboration, commitment, and planning to ensure that teachers have the skills necessary to ensure positive child outcomes for all children. Such collaborative planning has the added value ofreducing duplication of effort across programs (e.g., professional development and instructional coaching) and maximizing resources to support all high quality early education programs.

The federal definitions for educational settings, (20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(A))and performance expectations, (20 U.S.C. 1416 (a)(3)(A))set a high bar for programs to provide special education services to preschoolers with disabilities in settings with peers who are developing according to age expectations.

The purpose of this guide is to outline the steps a collaborative leadership team would take to explore, develop, implement, and sustain an intentional plan for increasing inclusive opportunities for young children with disabilitieswithin high quality early childhood programs, leading to increased positive child outcomes.

Inclusion Planning Process Support Structure

The following visual of the cascading system of support within the school system structure emphasizes the connection between state, regional, and local levels of support which collectively contribute to improved child outcomes. Theearly care and educationsystem includes programs, such asNC Pre-K, Head Start, Title I preschool, and child care, that also provide support and collaboration for high quality early childhood programs at the community level. Since each school system/community is unique, and partnerships between school system programs and other early childhood programs may be firmly established, members from those agencies should be included on the Inclusion Leadership Team or, as the plan progresses, on the Inclusion Implementation Team. As part of the cascading structure, the North CarolinaEarly Learning Networkprovidesprofessional development and technical assistance to district teamsas they navigate the planning and/or implementation process.

Developing an Effective Early Childhood Inclusion Plan

The Plan, Do, Study, and Act Cycles of Improvement

The planning process is organized around four stages that teams will cycle through more than once when establishing inclusive early childhoodenvironments, reflecting the changing nature of opportunities, challenges, and initiatives that emerge over time. The four basic steps within the cycle are:

Stage 1 –Planby establishing a group to identify the current status, barriers, and challenges and determine how to move forward as a group,

Stage 2 – Doimplement the plan as intended,

Stage3 – Studyto determine if the plan is working and achieving the intended outcomes, and

Stage 4 – Act upon what has been learned to improve the process and the outcomes.

The Plan, Do, Study, Act Intentional Inclusion District Plan

Stage 1—Plan

  • Establish an Inclusion Leadership Team - The district will determine key members of the Inclusion Leadership Teamto be involved in and to endorse the planning process. Each district should determine the team membership that works best for its community, but it is critical that all early childhood programs operated by the school district are committed to the development and implementation of an intentional inclusion plan. Include representatives who have the power, authority, and resources to support the plan. In addition, it is important to include parents of children with disabilities as members of the team:
  • Create a structurefordecision-making and management of planning tasks and activities,
  • Determine organizational procedures, such as an agreed-upon standard meeting schedule, ground rules, and strategies for reaching consensus, and
  • Develop a collective understanding of inclusion -- resources such as the short Connect video which explains the evolution of inclusion, ‘Foundations of Inclusion Birth to Five,’ the related DEC-NAEYC position statement, and NPDCI Research Synthesis Points on Early Childhood Inclusionprovide evidence to support inclusion. Team members can further explore their underlying beliefs regarding inclusion by participating in reflection and discussion activities.Other resources that might benefit the team are Including Children with Disabilities in State Pre-K Programs from the Education Law Center, and the Connect brief: The Law on Inclusive Education, which describe the legal requirements for inclusion.
  • Analyze your infrastructure and identify where children with disabilities are being servedby participating in a self-assessment process using the NC Preschool Self-Assessment Tooland Self-Assessment Worksheet. To be able to understand the complex issues, challenges, and barriers influencing inclusion and to detail the current status of the district, the process requires participants to share various viewpoints and information about their respective programs. Consider the rules and regulations that exist across programs, funding sources and how they can be leveraged, the variation across programs in terms of program standards, and how blended classrooms can meet each program’s highest standards. Collaborating partners and programs will need to participate in open discussions about difficult issues maintaining a positive focus toward the outcome of providing more inclusive placements for children with disabilities.It is helpful to have a neutral facilitator assist with this process. In addition to the self-assessment, share data that illustratethe state of inclusion inyourdistrict. Consider mapping where children with IEPs are receiving services and availability ofstaffing resources. The North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with IEPs are Being Servedactivity is designed to assist leadership teams in identifying where children with disabilities are located throughout a district or within a community.Based on information organized around the three key principles of inclusion -- participation, access and supports -- and gathered through discussions, mapping activity,data and the self-assessment summary consider which inclusive practices and strategies are working well across district programs, and wheregaps and challenges exist. Synthesize and compile information into a succinct summary.
  • Identify agreed upon targeted outcomes and goals that reflect a successful, intentionally inclusive program. Develop an overall outcome statement that can be accomplished in a three to five year period to guide the work of the team. The outcome statement should reflect the result the group is planning to achieve, such as to decrease the percentage of children in self-contained settings, increase positive child outcomes, or increase community opportunities for inclusion. For example: “Increase the number of district classrooms that serve preschool childrenwith IEPs in settings with children developing according to age expectations.” In order to successfully develop and meet outcomes and goals, teams must:
  • Brainstorm and prioritize collective needsrelated to achieving the outcomes based on information generated through discussion, data review, and identified gaps and challenges from the self-assessment summary. Consider:
  • Where children are currently receiving services,
  • What opportunities exist,
  • Class size/make-up,
  • Staffing resources, and
  • Regulations and practices among programs,
  • Determine as a teamone to three focus areas that reflect the strongest priorities for improving inclusive opportunities and moving toward an intentional and coordinated system, and
  • Identify key data pointsto establish baselines for the prioritized focus areas and to assess the effectiveness of the program.
  • Develop an Inclusion Implementation Planwhich includes the processes and activities needed to achieve the targeted outcomes/goals:
  • Identify, and/or develop resources and guidance needed to implement the plan,such as a district-wide preschool application, coordinated community screening plan,and community slot availability,
  • Define class ratio and size expectations that will ensure all children will have the opportunity to grow and learn,
  • Develop a placement process that will be used by all district early childhood programs to ensure appropriate placement opportunities for all children,
  • Develop a process for collecting child outcomes data from the existing general education curriculum assessment process,
  • Establish Inclusion Implementation Teams to enact the plan,
  • Secure administrative agreementsfor finances, classroom configurations and staffing, and other necessary resources,
  • Plan for professional development to prepare district staff -- determine professional development requirements for each program and establish a common training schedule,
  • Develop a process for collecting teacher self-assessments(pre and post) on needed professional development and support,
  • Provide supportto district staffin the implementation of inclusive practices (e.g., mentoring/coaching and professional development on writing and implementingIEPs and talking with families of children with disabilities, etc.), and
  • Determine next steps --assign responsibilities and develop a timeline for completion.

Stage 2—Do

  • Initiate the Inclusion ImplementationPlan:
  • Revisit your team compositionand add members if needed to ensure implementation of the plan.Implementation team members might include additional classroom staff, itinerant staff and related service providers,
  • Develop dissemination and outreach strategiesfor sharing information about the plan with a broad group of stakeholders to ensure widespread adoption and implementation of improvement activities, and
  • Implement the planand maintain data on progress toward goals and outcomes.

Stage 3— Study

  • Evaluate the progress and resultsof theInclusion Implementation Plan:
  • Develop a process and time tablefor monitoring and evaluating the plan and progress toward outcomes,
  • Ensure the plan is implemented as intended relative to the prioritized focus areas of the plan,
  • Monitor progress toward decreasing the percentage of children served in self-contained settings, and
  • Ensure that professional development for teachers is leading to the provision ofhigh quality instruction that results in positive child outcomes:
  • Analyze the outcomesof the professional development provided to teachers in terms of increased knowledge and attitudes related to inclusion,
  • Track child outcomesand analyze outcomes related toeducational environment, and
  • Review datato determine the effectiveness of the plan and the need for revision.

Stage 4 – Act

  • Determine a plan for improvement and sustainabilitybased on analysis of evaluation data:
  • Revisethe plan as needed to meet the outcomes and/or to consider additional improvement activities,
  • Identify and committo steps for sustaining the plan, and
  • Celebrateand share the successes!

For more information about planning an inclusion initiative in your community, please visit the NC Early Learning Network Inclusion page, or contact ELN staff.

References

Barnett, W. S. (2008). Preschool education and its lasting effects: Research and policy implications. Boulder and Tempe: Education and the Public Interest Center & Education Policy Research Unit. Retrieved from

CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge. (2009). Policy advisory: The law on inclusive education. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute. Retrieved from

Deming Institute. (n.d.). The plan, do, study, act (PDSA) cycle. Retrieved from

Division for Early Childhood & National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Early childhood inclusion: A joint position statement of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute. Retrieved from

Education Law Center. (2010). Including children with disabilities in state pre-k programs. Retrieved from

National Professional Development Center on inclusion. (2011). Research synthesis points on practices that support inclusion. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute, Retrieved from

National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center. (n.d.). Improving post-school independent living outcomes: Evidence-based secondary transition predictors. Retrieved from

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2012). NC preschool inclusion initiative: Self-assessment tool. Retrieved from

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2012). Self-assessment worksheet. Retrieved from

U.S. Department of Education. (2013). C089 – Children with disabilities (IDEA) early childhood file specifications. Retrieved from

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.) Building the legacy: IDEA 2004. Retrieved from

Yoshikawa, H., Weiland, C., Brooks-Gunn, J., Burchinal, M. R., Espinosa, L. M., Gormley, W. T., … Zaslow, M. J. (2013). Investing in our future: The evidence base on preschool education. Retrieved from

Inclusion Planning Guide, NC Early Learning Network, a joint project of NC-DPI and UNC-FPG, 2014