Defining Disability

Approximately 12 percent of all children have mental, physical, speech-language, emotional and/or learning disabilities that hinder them from being successful in the general education curriculum without additional support(s). In describing a child as disabled, the emphasis should not be on their disabilities, but rather on their abilities. Therefore, to the maximum extent possible, each student receives services in the least restrictive environment (LRE), predominantly in the regular education classroom, thus allowing the student access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE).