The full report is available as a PDF at the bottom of this page. This summary is also available in Spanish.

Summary, Key Points, and Considerations for Practice

The data in this report reveal that there is a wide range of ways schools are including and serving students with disabilities. Many schools invest much time and many resources to ensure inclusion can occur while others are precluded by policies that do not allow students to have modified curriculum and pursue alternative pathways to graduation. This report concludes with a summary and considerations for practice based on the broad, high-level view of the data collected from 51 diocesan-level and 224 school leaders.

Summary and Key Points in Context

• Teacher preparation and professional development must assume all teachers teach students with disabilities. AND...
  • High-quality core instruction (Tier 1) is vital to effective inclusion. BUT...
  • Understanding and implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for academic and behavioral support varies widely.
• Inclusion of students with high-incidence/mild disabilities is common, though identification and models of inclusion and support vary widely. THEREFORE...
  • Mission and theological implications of being Catholic schools must accompany pedagogy, and opportunities for professional learning in both areas must exist if schools are to be successfully inclusive. BUT...
  • System and school leaders agree that there is not enough ongoing, consistent training for school personnel to support inclusion. AND MAYBE...
• Mission and theological implications of being Catholic schools must accompany pedagogy, and opportunities for professional learning in both areas must exist if schools are to be successfully inclusive BECAUSE...
  • Inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools has advanced with inconsistency throughout the United States.

Considerations for Practice

(Arch)Dioceses

• Provide clear guidance and/or policies regarding inclusion of students with disabilities, especially with regard to modifications.
• Form teachers in the theology and mission of inclusion as well as strong instructional practices that meet the needs of all learners.
• Increase training opportunities and personnel. Learn how inclusion works in other dioceses and schools.
• Provide ongoing, consistent, meaningful MTSS training for school leaders and monitor implementation.

Schools & Teachers

• Local professional learning opportunities provided by the school for the teachers and staff rooted in mission and pedagogy to develop the necessary dispositions, knowledge, and skills to effectively include all students.
• Choose, train, and use curriculum that provides strong resources for intervention and differentiation and is built on evidence-based pillars of language and numerical literacy and behavior.
• Create sustainable support for students and teachers through systems rather than focusing on specially trained personnel/inclusion specialists. Specially trained personnel should fit into the system, not be the “program.”
• Collaborate with other schools to share personnel and team up for training on topics that will increase teachers’ knowledge and skills (UDL, Science of Reading, Neuroscience of Math, PBIS, intervention, modifications, executive functioning, etc.).
• School provides ongoing, required training in reading and math intervention and specific learning disabilities for teachers and staff.