Seventeen groups serving New York City school children comprise the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Coalition. The coalition advocates on behalf of individual children with disabilities and their families with the New York City Board of Education, the New York State Education Department, and the United States Department of Education to enforce the LRE requirements of New York and federal law. The LRE Coalition was formed in 1999.

     The mission of the Coalition is to assure that all students with disabilities are educated in the LRE appropriate for each child so that all students can learn to their fullest capacity. We seek to insure that, whenever appropriate, students with disabilities are provided with the supports, services, and physical accommodations they need to progress in the general education curriculum in general education classes in their neighborhood schools.

     The Coalition recognizes the central role of parents in determining the education their children receive and works to maximize the information parents receive and the range of choices available to them for their children's education.

     A staff of two research and report on LRE issues and implementation, maintain this website, and conduct outreach with parents and community members. Coalition staff will be happy to answer questions about LRE, conduct a workshop or send a speaker to a meeting of parents or community members. Just e-mail us at info [at] lrecoalition.org or telephone us at (212) 947-9779.