All students belong: Our Spring 2025 series
The Arc of King County’s Inclusive Learning series was created by people with lived experience, family members, and community allies to support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and Black students with disabilities.
There are 14 courses in all, 3 in Spanish, that explore understanding disability, tips to work with families, and support for families navigating schools.
These classes were produced as part of the Family Engagement Collaborative for the state’s Inclusionary Practices Technical Network (IPTN).
The missing manual
"They aren't ready for us" and “I wish I had known ...” are statements we hear often. Our Parent's Guide to Inclusive Learning covers the topics that parents often find themselves navigating while advocating for their loved ones.
- Belonging and well-being
- Inclusion
- Disability as diversity: Rights & justice
- The legal basis for inclusion
- Universal design for learning and multi-tiered systems of support
- The heart of the matter (person-centered)
- Big, complex behavior
- Special education basics
Tips for Working with Families
Ableism and racism affect quality of life. When combined the effect is magnified. If a school's culture does not prioritize the needs of Black, indigenous, or other youth of color - or fails to respond to the needs of people with developmental disabilities - it leads to
lifelong disparities. In Tips & Insights on Working with Families to Support Inclusive Learning, we offer strategies and parent voice, along with research links so to you can learn more about how race and disability intersect.
Why we joined this effort
Historically, Washington has been one of the least inclusive states for students with disabilities. In recent years that has shifted, and we want to make sure all students with disabilities benefit. In the 2023-24 school year:
- 9% of students with intellectual disabilities were in the general education setting for 80% or more during the day. In some districts that was as low as 2%.
- For Black students with disabilities, the average is 53%.
- The average for all students with disabilities is 65%
The most frequently reported barriers, nationally, are attitudes and beliefs. We highly recommend Extended Myths and Facts, another IPTN resource, that corrects misinformation about including students with disabilities in general education settings. Bottom line, inclusive practices benefit the academic, social and emotional development of all children.
Curious about the work? Learn about the UW Haring Center Demonstration Sites.
