There is a General Education vs. Special Education's mentality when it comes to dealing with behavior. Gen Ed teachers call for “help” and successfully have students removed from their classroom instead of learning to work with their special education students. I have seen violation after violation of LRE. Students that are ID are forced to remain in general education for years in elementary when they could be better served functionally and academically in a life skills environment, eliminating the frustration of participating in a general education curriculum in which they are incapable. By the time they are moved to a more suitable environment, valuable learning time for them has been wasted. On the other hand, gifted students whose only barrier to accessing the Gen Ed curriculum is behavior—behavior that is manageable—are pulled to the most restrictive environment to do their class work and miss instructional time. And, as a sped teacher, I have no one to speak to at the district for support because these people are either non-existent or invisible. My only resources are well-meaning “behavior specialists” who are less qualified, both on paper and in years teaching, than I am in that realm.
