In 2018, the State Legislature allocated funding to improve inclusionary practices throughout Washington state. A portion of that money was focused on implementing professional development, with an emphasis on coaching and mentoring classroom teachers on the following topics:

Inclusive education
Differentiated instruction
Individualized instruction

OSPI partnered with multiple organizations across the state to provide professional development at no cost to schools and districts. For a complete list of all the IPP projects, visit the IPP page on the OSPI website.

OSPI’s Goals for Washington

By 2021, OSPI’s goal for the IPP project was to increase inclusion by:

60% statewide
50% in targeted pilot schools

By the end of 2020, Washington met the statewide target and exceeded the pilot target by 5.5 percentage points. Over 5,000 students with disabilities in Washington moved up to the highest level of inclusion, which is 80-100% of class time in the general education classroom.

CCTS Strategy for the IPP

CCTS received a portion of the IPP funds to improve opportunities for students with identified disabilities. To increase inclusionary practices in general education through professional development, CCTS is focusing on strengthening partnerships between:

Special Education (SE) and
Career Technical Education (CTE)

Next: Inclusion Overview