The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has prompted a movement in public schools toward including students of all ability levels in the classroom. Private institutions are not bound by these federal regulations, presenting an opportunity to investigate how inclusive programs are generated outside of the legislation. This study seeks to explore how one such institution, the Solomon Schechter Day School Association, addresses special education and specifically considers whether Jewish precepts influenced these practices. The findings reveal that students with mild disabilities benefit from the flexibility, attentiveness, and immediacy of care provided by Solomon Schechter schools. Explicit Jewish influences were not detected; however, it is possible that the observed practices and policies were implicitly framed by principles of Judaism.

A New IDEA: An Exploration of Special Education in Jewish Day Schools

(1960). COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY FOR JEWISH EDUCATION. Jewish Education: Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 36-44.

Joseph Diamond

Papers

Community responsibility for jewish education