All students!! (Depending on their individual needs.)
Students of every eligibility category may thrive in the general education setting such as students with Autism, Specific Learning Disabilities (Reading and/or Math), Intellectual Disabilities, Other Health Impairments (i.e. ADHD), Visual Impairments, Orthopedically Impaired, etc.
Many inclusion classrooms have general education teachers and exceptional student education teachers (ESE) collaborating and working together to meet the diverse needs in their classrooms. A common method in Santa Rosa County Public Schools is called "Support Facilitation," where an ESE teacher "pushes" into the gen-ed classroom. They can help all students but have training and expertise in helping students with disabilities and can meet their ESE service minutes according to the student's Individual Education Plans. Some inclusion classrooms are served by Dual Certified Teachers (he or she is certified in general education and ESE), so they deliver the core instruction as well as the specially designed instruction for students with individual education plans (IEP).
In inclusive classrooms, teachers meet the needs of their students by presenting lessons in different ways and differentiating their instruction. They may incorporate multisensory instruction as it gives kids more than one way to make connections and learn concepts. For example, they may use visual aids and manipulatives like colored chips or a multiplication chart in math class. Students with sensory or attention needs may be given opportunities to move around or use fidgets. Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) can help all students and can be individualized to help students with behavioral needs. Instruction in inclusive classrooms is often done in small groups so that the teacher(s) can tailor their teaching to meet the needs of all learners.
Through progress monitoring and analyzing data, the teacher and other specialists such as a reading interventionist will determine if a student needs additional interventions and supports to meet his or her needs. The teacher(s) will also ensure that the accommodations, supports, specially designed instruction and services listed in an ESE student's IEP are followed. These students' ESE minutes are often served within the general education setting, and their related service providers such as a Speech Therapist and/or an Occupational Therapist may push into the classroom as well. Accommodations remove learning barriers in the classroom to provide ESE students with equal access to learning. Some examples of accommodations include extra time for tests, breaks throughout the day, class notes provided, audiobooks and text-to-speech technology (text read aloud), and hands-on activities to access the curriculum.
The majority of ESE students in Inclusion are instructed on general education standards alongside their peers. However, students eligible for Access Points Standards may also be included in the classroom lessons and activities that are adapted or modified to meet his/her special needs.