Reverse Mainstreaming: Nonhandicapped Students in Special Education Classrooms

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Abstract
A recent investigation of the role of the regular classroom teacher in the IEP process revealed that teachers have a substantial amount of discretion in implementing the due process and service provision requirements of V.L. 94–142, resulting in some innovative and controversial practices (Nevin, Semmel, & McCann, 1981). More than half of a sample of elementary school teachers indicated that they regularly sent nonhandicapped students to special education classrooms for a variety of activities, including instruction and socialization. The present report provides additional data on these “reverse mainstreaming” practices based on a subsequent analysis of the Nevin et al. findings. The special education programs to which nonhandicapped students were sent, the reasons teachers gave for reverse mainstreaming, and factors related to reverse mainstreaming are explored. Implications for special education policy and practice are discussed.