Dec 3-7 is National Inclusive Schools Week

From the National Education Association, “since its inception in 2001, Inclusive Schools Week has celebrated the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students with disabilities and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The Week also provides an important opportunity for educators, students, and parents to discuss what else needs to be done in order to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.”

People with differing abilities are often denied the right to participate in a typical classroom and in everyday life. Their participation is denied by inaccessibility. Sometimes it is lack of physical access, lack of access to technology or other limited resources.

At other times, accessibility is denied because of barriers created by attitudes.

Inclusion is about providing a welcome to all people with the supports to make it happen. Inclusion requires leadership that takes a stand and fights against exclusion. It is ok for people to be together and not be the same.

Is the world around you welcoming to all people? The workplace, school, church, store or business? Start paying attention to that. If it is not, who is being excluded? Who decides who is excluded?

Please support the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in education, employment, recreation and every other facet of everyday life. Support the full funding of IDEA and other programs that on paper are in existence, but are inaccessible because funding is not available.