Shannon GasperMrs. BrezinskyAdvanced CompositionFebruary 12, 2013Improving Special EducationIn recent years, there is no more controversial topic among parents, teachers, and administrators than inclusion. The primary goal of a year-round school system is to help its students succeed. School administrators strive to see their students succeed in school and continue to become better human beings. A school system can ensure that its students will become better students in and outside of a classroom through the new inclusion system. Inclusion in the classroom should be implemented in all school systems because of the benefits it provides to both students with and without disabilities. Throughout the history of education, special education has changed significantly. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed legislation directly supporting special education; the law was to provide federal support for training teachers for children with mental retardation. By implementing this law, every child with mental retardation will receive the attention they deserve. As special education became more similar to mainstream education, the number of children with disabilities in school became more visible. According to Robert Osgood, author of "The History of Inclusion the United States," in 1966, "more than 127,000 school-aged children were enrolled in an institution, an increase of 40,000 since 1958...Nearly 1,979,000 children in 1966 were enrolled in an institution. enrolled in public school programs for the visually impaired, hard of hearing, infirm, or emotionally “specially unwell” (Osgood). As the numbers show, children with disabilities began receiving help in the mid-1900s, but ...... middle of paper ...... they all need education. The individualized education plan, more commonly called IEP, defines the individualized goal of a child with a disability. An IEP is designed to help students achieve their educational goals with the help of teachers and others. An IEP itself describes how the student learns, what teachers and others should do to help the student succeed in learning the subject. Goals and objectives are set both long-term and short-term in the IEP (Kamens). According to a study conducted by Palastra, an organization for people with disabilities, students with disabilities placed in a regular education classroom improved their standardized test scores, IEP goals and objectives, reading performance and grades (-- -----). An inclusive environment can enhance an educational program and enrich children with a beneficial learning method..