Additional information:

NECTAC
The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) supports the implementation of the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Its mission is to strengthen service systems to ensure that children with disabilities (birth through five) and their families receive and benefit from high quality, culturally appropriate, and family-centered supports and services.

Division for Early Childhood Position Statement on Inclusion

NAEYC Position Statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice

NAEYC Position Statement on Inclusion

Inclusion

According to the Division for Early Childhood, "Inclusion, as a value, supports the right of all children, regardless of abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities. Natural settings are those in which the child would spend time had he or she not had a disability. These settings include, but are not limited to: home, preschools, nursery schools, Head Start programs, kindergartens, neighborhood school classrooms, childcare, places of worship, recreational (such as community playgrounds and community events) and other settings that all children and families enjoy. Inclusion is more than a setting. A defining characteristic of inclusion is the active engagement and participation between children with and without disabilities in the context of educational and community settings.

This right of young children with disabilities to be cared for and educated with typically developing peers is one of the most radical and profound outcomes of federal disability legislation. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that assists states in developing and implementing systems of comprehensive services for all eligible children with disabilities, birth through 21 years of age. Part C and Part B of IDEA support young children with disabilities receiving services in inclusive settings and natural settings and natural environments.