Mainstreaming K-12 Special Needs Students: Impact on Products and Services

Mainstreaming can be broadly defined as integrating students with language and/or learning disabilities into general education classes with non-disabled students, in order to benefit the children with disabilities. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 requires that all students be evaluated uniformly, rather than using different standards as in the past, and many districts have turned to mainstreaming in hopes of better preparing special needs students for annual progress evaluations. With an increase in the number of special needs students in general education classrooms, districts are looking for the best instructional strategies and methods for working with these students. Outsell developed this report to examine the trends and analyze the barriers impacting districts’ mainstreaming efforts, and to clarify for suppliers of special needs instruction and professional development how mainstreaming has affected the types of instructional materials and technology teachers use for these students in the classroom. The report also examines the impact of mainstreaming on teacher professional development. The report provides:

- Data from an Outsell survey of 300 special needs educators, covering types and preferred format of instructional materials used in mainstream classrooms;
- Data from the same survey looking at the most effective tools for working with special needs students in general education classrooms;
- The top software programs for special needs students, according to survey respondents;
- Essential actions for suppliers to the K-12 education market.