Section 10: Removal from the General Education Environment
Information in this section includes the length of the school year and the school day as well as the total school hours per week.
The percentage of time with non-disabled peers (TWNDP) is also displayed here. The student’s TWNDP may change during the duration of the IEP based on the start and end dates of specific services the student is receiving. If so, the IEP will list each TWNDP segment separately. Additionally, if the IEP is in effect over two school years (In Connecticut the school year is from July 1 - June 30), each school year will also be listed separately.
When the PPT considers removal of a student from the general education program it is important for the team members to be aware that the IDEA requires placement of special education students in general education classrooms with the use of supplementary aids and services “to the maximum extent appropriate.” Thus, the decision as to whether any individual student should be educated in the general education classroom setting, all of the time, part of the time, or none of the time, is dependent on the needs and abilities of the individual child and should not be based upon the student’s particular disability category or the structure of an existing specialized program or classroom in the district.
The IEP shall explain the extent, if any, to which the student will not participate in the general education classroom, the general education curriculum, or extracurricular or other nonacademic activities. The PPT will need to:
- explain the extent to which the student will NOT participate in general education classes, and non-academic activities with non-disabled peers; and
- justify why the PPT recommended that the student be removed from the general education environment.
NOTE: The LRE Checklist must be completed if the student is to be removed from the general education environment for 60% or more of the time. It is recommended that the LRE Checklist be utilized when making any placement decision to ensure conformity with the LRE provisions of the IDEA.
Additional Educational Placement information is required to be collected as part of the IEP documentation process. The PPT will need to indicate if the student is living at a hospital or at a Private Residential Facility. If the student is living at a Private Residential Facility, the PPT will need to document who made the placement decision (the state agency, school district/PPT, or the parent) and who is responsible for the expense of the Residential Placement.