Program Planning Steps for an Inclusive Education Program
from the All Children Belong Project.

1. Identify Team Members Necessary
These may include the multi-disciplinary team members, general and special educators, local administrators, related services providers, parents, people who know the child or have expertise in a specific needed area, the student, if appropriate.

2. Identify the Student's Strengths and Educational Needs
Team members need to fully understand these. The multi-disciplinary team may need to complete an evaluation if one has not be done recently. In addition, parents need to give the team any helpful information they have about their child.

3. Identify Existing Resources Provided in the Student's Program
List all supports and services required.

4. Describe the Student's Current Education Program
This description should clarify what modifications, materials, and teaching strategies are used. In addition, parents should list the main goals they would like to see addressed in the coming year.

5. Identify and Describe Potential Classrooms
Analyze each general education classroom available and determine which is the most appropriate. Choice should be age-appropriate. Other factors to consider are location, class size, instructional strategies, teaching styles, materials used, and the willin gness of classroom teachers to participate.

6. Select the Classroom for the Student
The outcome of the team's decision concerning selecting a classroom should be a recommendation regarding placlement and the initiation of local school procedures for obtaining that placement.

7. Develop a Schedule of Activities
This important step in the planning process describes in detail needed adaptations, materials, location of services, people responsible for providing those services, and any other resources needed. As the daily schedule is formed, insure that the student' s IEP goals are being addressed in some part of the schedule.

8. Develop Transition Activities
Determine which activities may be needed to prepare for the student's arrival to the new placement (i.e. student visits new classroom). In addition, any special instructions needed to prepare the students should begin (i.e. a student going into junior hi gh will need to know how to operate a locker or have one modified for ease of use).

9. Provide for Additional Resources to the Student's Program as Needed
Advance preparation should be made to add needed resources (for example, budgeting for an instructional aide, or developing a peer tutoring system).

10. Provide for Technical Assistance to the Student's Program as Needed
If technical assistance is needed, the team must decide who will provide it, how it will be implemented, and how often it should be provided?

11. Train School Staff and Students without Disabilities as Needed
Training topics can cover disability awareness, specialized care instruction, clarification of personnel responsibilities, cooperative teaching strategies, etc. The appropriate administrators should be notified of needed training.

12. Provide for Continued Parental Involvement
The planning team should develop a system for parent/teacher communication. Determine who will be responsible for communication, (i.e. teacher, instructional aides, and case manager) to be the primary contact person. Parents' input should be encouraged an d seriously considered throughout the planning process.

13. Monitor Student's Progress and Modify Plan as Needed
Planning does not stop when the student is placed. The team is an ongoing resource to be used throughout the school year. A schedule of follow-up meetings should be determined, allowing for 'emergency' meetings when needed. Monitoring should be done to o bserve how the existing program is going and if existing supports are adequate or need to be altered, added, or eliminated.

Schools have found creative ways of insuring that teaching teams have consistent meeting times to plan to students. These include "bloc" scheduling and use of support personnel to free staff for planning.

Successful student teams create a classroom atmosphere where each student is viewed as having something to offer. Opportunities are found or developed to present students with disabilities as valued members o the classroom. The student is se en as a person who can engage in reciprocal relationships, instead of always being on the receiving end of assistance.