How to Work with General Education Teachers When Inclusion Feels Like a One-Person Job

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I still think about one particular classroom from my student teaching placement.

The general education teacher had been teaching that room for literally years. He was very “old school” and was the football coach who mostly kept kids in line by being big and loud. He knew how he ran his class, the same every year.  His system worked well enough and kids passed their standardized tests for the most part (but not as well for the students with disabilities). 

Anyways, then me and my cooperating teacher, who had been his co-teacher for English 9 and 10 for two years, showed up to class to “co-teach.”

We were not exactly unwelcome. But we were not particularly welcomed either. We were guests in someone else’s space, squeezing in where we could, trying not to disrupt the routine, while also trying to actually support the students who needed us. The message was subtle but clear: this is my classroom, and you are here because I’ve been told you have to be. 

That experience taught me something I wish someone had said out loud in teacher prep: inclusion is not just a service delivery model. It is a relationship. And like all relationships, it can be genuinely hard.

Whether you are new to inclusion and trying to figure out where you fit, or you are years in and still fighting the same battles with the same resistant colleagues, I’m hoping there’s something here to help you. 

Here is a more practical, more honest approach to collaborating with general education teachers, even when the collaboration part feels like a one-person job.

Image of IEP Service Logs with the text overlay reading, "Inclusion is not just a service delivery model. It's a relationship And like all relationships, it can be hard."

Key Takeaways

  • Most resistance from general education teachers is not personal. It comes from overwhelm, lack of information, and a system that never built enough time for real collaborative planning.
  • The most important conversation you can have happens before the year starts. Focus on establishing roles, expectations, pet peeves, and what success looks like for both of you.
  • Start the relationship before you need something from it. The first contact should never be about a problem or accusatory. 
  • Make accommodations and goals easy by translating IEP language into clear, classroom-specific actions and use tools that make them easy to find.
  • Resistant general education teachers fall into recognizable types and each one needs a different approach.
  • Sustainable collaboration is built on systems, not relationships alone. Even great relationships fall apart when everyone is slammed.
  • Know when to loop in admin, and how to do it without it feeling like a complaint.

Why General Education Teachers Aren’t Always the Problem

Before we get into strategy, let’s reframe the situation.

Most general education teachers who push back on inclusion are not doing it because they are bad people or because they do not care about students with disabilities. They are doing it because they have 28 other students and no extra bandwidth. The individualized education programs landed in their inbox and felt like one more thing on an already impossible list. They were not at the IEP meeting where the plan was built, so it feels handed down rather than collaborative. Nobody translated what the accommodations actually mean for their specific classroom. And they do not always know that implementing the IEP is a shared legal responsibility under IDEA, not an optional favor to the special education teacher. 

When they became a teacher, they didn’t picture another teacher in the room. And almost none of them had a class in co-teaching or inclusion. So this can be a surprise in an already stressful situation of a new school year. 

There is also this: in most schools, there is never enough time for collaborative planning. Not because teachers do not want to, but because master schedules do not allow for it. Shared planning time is an administrative decision, and most administrators do not prioritize it. 

When you go into the relationship understanding all of that, you can approach it differently. Trying to convince someone to care isn’t usually what’s needed. Instead, focus on making the actions behind caring easier, because they probably already do care about these students.

Image of an accommodation matrix on a computer with text overlay reading, "Stop trying to convenience someone to care. You'll make more progress by showing how caring can be easier."

Establish Roles and Expectations Together, Hopefully Before Anything Else

Before the school year starts, or before a new student joins an inclusion setting, the single most valuable thing you can do is sit down together and get explicit. Not about the IEP yet. About how you are going to work.

Start the Relationship Before You Need Something From It

Don’t wait until day one of school to start a conversation or when something goes wrong. By then you are in damage control mode and the relationship starts on the wrong foot.

Introduce yourself before the year starts or before the student arrives. Keep it light. Ask about their classroom, their routines, and what the class is currently working on. Do not lead with the IEP. Do not lead with the student’s needs. Lead with genuine curiosity about them and their class.

Then share something useful right away. Not a list of requirements, a tool that makes their life easier. A clear, synthesized summary of the individualized education program gives general education teachers what they actually need to know, the student’s key strengths, accommodations, and support needs, on one or two pages, without handing them a 30-page document and hoping they read it.

You can get flexible At-A-Glance options to match the needs of your individual students here, so you can share all the info they need without a pile of papers. 

When the first thing you bring is something that saves them time and improves IEP compliance in their classroom, you immediately position yourself as a resource rather than an extra obligation. 

Frame it as a partnership kickoff, not a compliance meeting

This conversation should not start with the IEP, IDEA, or legal obligations. Those things matter and you will get there. But leading with requirements can put the general education teacher in a defensive position before the relationship has even begun.

Lead with curiosity. Lead with what you can offer. Lead with “how can we make this work for both of us?” You will get a completely better response than you would leading with “here is what the IEP says you have to do.”

This is also a great moment to discuss which co-teaching models might work best in their classroom, whether that is one teach one assist, station teaching, parallel teaching, or something more fluid depending on the day. When that conversation happens before school starts rather than in the middle of a hard week, it feels collaborative instead of prescribed.

Image of an Accommodation Matrix on a clip board with text overlay reading, "Lead with curiosity. Lead with what you can offer. Lead with 'how can we make this better for both of us?'"

Start with strengths, not job descriptions

Technically, the general education teacher brings subject matter expertise and curriculum knowledge. Special education teachers bring strategies for adapting content, knowledge of individual student needs, and experience with differentiated instruction and behavior support. Those roles can work together well. But both of you bring so much more than a job description, and the best inclusion partnerships happen when you recognize each other’s strengths and actually use them.

  • What does this general education teacher do exceptionally well that you can learn from? 
  • What do you bring that they could not replicate on their own? 
  • Where do your strengths overlap, and where do they complement each other? 

Starting there sets a tone of relational trust before a single accommodation has been discussed.

Then get explicit about expectations and name your pet peeves

This conversation feels awkward. Have it anyway. It prevents about 80 percent of the friction that shows up later.

Ask each other:

  • What do you need from me this year to feel supported?
  • How do you prefer to communicate — email, in person, or quick texts?
  • When something is not working, how do you want me to bring it up?
  • What does a successful inclusion partnership actually look like to you?

Hopefully, a general education teacher who cannot stand being interrupted mid-lesson will tell you that upfront if you ask. Things like this can seem small to you, but wreck another teacher’s flow. Left unspoken, they become the source of every passive-aggressive interaction from October onward.

This is also the time to discuss your expectations and pet peeves from kids

Behavior management can feel very personal, and each teacher can approach student behavior with different philosophies and strategies. You want to avoid the “good cop, bad cop” situation and get on the same page up front about specific ways you’ll handle routines, expectations, and discipline. 

Make sure you are very clear about how you will both expect students to act in the class. And get specific. When will students be allowed to use the restroom? Is calling out a pet peeve of one of you? If so, how will both of you act to reinforce hand raising? 

Plan these specifics up front so that you start the year off responding to students the same way as best you can. This goes a long way in showing students the expectations and that you’re partners in teaching this class. 

Make Accommodations and Modifications Easy to Actually Use

Most failures in implementing accommodations happen because the accommodation is written in IEP language that does not translate into a real classroom.

What is “preferential seating” in a 30-student science lab where students rotate through stations? How does “extended time” work during a timed district assessment that the whole class takes at once? And, how do I possibly “reduced distractions” in a classroom with 27 other kids?

The gap between what is written and what is possible in practice is a real challenge, and it is your job to bridge it, not the general education teacher’s job to figure it out alone.

For each accommodation, give the general education teacher one clear, specific, actionable version that works in their classroom. Do not assume they know. Do not assume the IEP language is self-explanatory. Assume they need a translator.

This is a great time to share an IEP Accommodations Matrix, which is one of the most useful tools in your inclusion toolkit. It keeps every accommodation and modification organized across every classroom on your caseload in plain language that any teacher can use without opening the full IEP. When you pair it with an IEP At-a-Glance, you give general education teachers everything they need to support your students without overwhelming them.

What to Do When a General Education Teacher Is Resistant

This is the section you have been waiting for. Let’s get specific.

Resistant general education teachers are not all resistant for the same reason, and the approach that works for one type can completely backfire with another. Here are the four most common types and what actually helps.

The “Not My Job” Teacher

This teacher genuinely believes that students with IEPs are the special education teacher’s responsibility, not theirs. They are not trying to be difficult. They just have a fundamental misunderstanding of how inclusion works legally and practically.

What helps: Come with the IDEA language, but do not lead with it. Start by explaining what the student needs and why it matters for their access to the inclusive learning environment. Then, matter-of-factly, explain that implementing the IEP is a shared responsibility for everyone who works with the student, including them. Keep it informational, not confrontational. Try something like: “I want to make sure we are both set up to support [student] well this year. Part of that is making sure these accommodations are in place in your class too. It’s actually something we are both responsible for under their IEP. I am here to make that as easy as possible.”

At this point, a lot of teachers will say “but the other kids are missing out” and give general or very specific examples of a student who took all of their time and should never have been in general education in the first place. 

To this, you can say that research shows isolating kids in special education does much more harm on the whole than good. It isn’t easy, but statistically, it’s worth it. And it’s worth it for both kids. Kids with IEPs learn more and have better life outcomes, not just academic, but they’re happier and more included in society after high school. Kids who are segregated are unhappier and less included in society. That’s a big deal and not what we want for our kids. 

Plus, research also shows that kids without disabilities who are in inclusive classrooms learn much more than academics. They learn to be more collaborative, better leaders, better problem solvers, and how to work with diverse people, all with zero impact on their academic outcomes. 

These outcomes have been found again and again. Now, no one is saying it’s easy or perfect, but it’s worth the work if we can have happier and more well rounded kids coming out of school.

The “I Don’t Have Time” Teacher

This teacher is not resistant; they are drowning. They want to help and they just cannot figure out where to fit one more thing into an already impossible week.

What helps: Simplify everything. Do not hand them seven IEPs and a behavior plan. Start with the two or three high-leverage practices that matter most for their class. Make it take less than five minutes to implement. Come to them with a pre-filled shared template, not a request for them to create something new. The less cognitive load you put on them, the more likely they are to actually follow through. Try: “I know you are slammed. Here are the three things that make the biggest difference for [student]. I have already written out exactly what each one looks like in your class. Let me know how I can help you get these in place.

I say this knowing full well that you’re probably in the same boat! You’re also drowning! So lean into this relationship as a partnership. When you can divide and conquer more of your shared responsibilities, you’re both going to do better. Sit down together and say “we’re both drawing. How can we better divide this workload?”

Think about what you do well and quickly and what you would love to give up. Can you trade off grading? Better yet, can you find assignments that you don’t actually need to grade? Look for ways to simplify together. 

The “I Don’t Believe In It” Teacher

This teacher thinks accommodations are unfair to other students or that they are doing the student with learning disabilities a disservice by “lowering the bar.” This is the most frustrating type to me personally, because it is a values disagreement, not a knowledge gap.

What helps: Do not get into the equity debate. You will not win it, and you will probably damage the relationship trying. Instead, zoom in on the specific student. “What does [student] need to actually access your content today?” is a much more productive conversation than “here is why accommodations are fair.” When you make it about this child rather than a policy, most teachers respond very differently. You can also use student data to anchor the conversation. Take some data on how the student does with and without the accommodations. The specific progress monitoring numbers are harder to argue with than philosophical positions.

Unfortunately, not all teachers are here for our mission. Fortunately, we can still help the students in their classes get what they need. 

The “I’ve Never Been Told This Before” Teacher

This teacher has been doing inclusion for years and genuinely had no idea they were supposed to be co-teaching in their classroom or that co-teaching isn’t just the special education teacher walking around the room giving praise to students and redirecting the ones off track. This is more common than you would think, and it is a training gap, not a values gap.

What helps: Give grace and information in equal measure. Do not make them feel bad for not knowing something nobody told them. Lead with “I want to make sure we are both on the same page” and treat it as a fresh start. Most of these teachers become your most cooperative partners once they understand what is actually expected and what it could look like.

If you’re a new teacher or in school, you can always approach this with “I just learned about this strategy that I’d love to try out” or “I have this assignment for class where we have to try station teaching and I’d love your support.” I pulled those lines out for years!

Scripts that work across all four types:

  • “I want to confirm I am reading the IEP correctly. Can we talk through what this looks like in your class?”
  • “I am trying to make this as easy as possible for you. What would be most helpful?”
  • “I noticed [student] has been struggling with [specific thing]. I think [strategy/accommodation] might help. Can we try it this week?”
  • “I want to make sure I am supporting you in supporting [student]. What do you need from me?”

What to avoid: anything that sounds like an accusation, a lecture, or a gotcha even when you are frustrated. Especially when you are frustrated.

Build a System That Doesn’t Depend on Weekly Reminders

Even the best relationships break down when everyone is slammed. Sustainable collaboration between special education teachers and general education teachers runs on systems, not just goodwill.

  • Set up one consistent touchpoint that does not require heroic effort from either person. A two-minute check-in at the same time every week. A shared note where either of you can drop quick updates. A standing question: “Is there anything I should know about how [student] is doing this week?”
  • Regular data dialogues do not have to be formal. Even a quick “here is what I am seeing in my data, what are you noticing in class?” keeps both of you informed and keeps student engagement at the center of the conversation where it belongs.
  • Document what you discuss. Not as evidence against anyone, but as a shared record that keeps everyone on the same page. “Just wanted to confirm our conversation from Tuesday. We agreed to try chunking the assignments for [student] this week. I’ll support this by…” goes a long way toward consistency without feeling punitive.
  • When your documentation starts showing that accommodations consistently are not being implemented, you have a clear, factual record to bring to the conversation or to administration if it gets to that point. You are not operating from memory or frustration.

When to Loop In Admin

The relationship-first approach works most of the time. Sometimes it does not, and you’ll need to know when to seek support.

Bring in your administrator when a student’s access to their inclusive learning environment is being materially affected, when you have had the same conversation more than twice with no change, or when there is a clear compliance issue that is not being resolved at the teacher level.

When you go to admin, frame it as a support request, not a complaint. “I have been working with [teacher] on implementing [student’s] accommodations, and I am running into some challenges. I would love your support in figuring out the best next step” lands very differently than “[teacher] is not following the IEP.”

Come with documentation, a specific ask, and having already tried to solve it yourself. If professional development around evidence-based practices or co-teaching models would help the whole team, this is also a good moment to advocate for that, framing it as a systems solution rather than a problem with one individual.

Final Thoughts on Collaboration

Collaboration in inclusion settings is one of the hardest relationship dynamics in education. The stakes are high, the time is short, and the power dynamic is genuinely complicated. You are responsible for students’ legal rights and educational access in a room that belongs to someone else, while also trying to be a good colleague to the person whose cooperation you need every single day.

You are not going to fix that with one email or one good conversation. But a relationship-first approach, honest expectations set early, accommodations that are actually usable, and the right tools to support communication across a whole caseload. That combination makes it possible to build something that genuinely works. For you, for your general education colleagues, and most importantly for the students who need both of you at your best.

Frequently Asked Questions about Collaborating with General Education Teachers

What do I do if a general education teacher refuses to implement accommodations and modifications?

Start by making sure the accommodations are clear and practical. Sometimes resistance comes from not knowing how to implement something, not unwillingness. If you have clarified and simplified and the issue persists, document your conversations and bring your administrator in with a specific support request framed around the student’s access to their education. Come with student data and a clear record of what you have already tried.

How do I share IEP information with general education teachers without giving them the whole document?

Use a concise summary that covers key accommodations, the service schedule, student strengths, and any behavior or safety notes. A good shared template gives general education teachers what they need without overwhelming them and it becomes the reference they actually use instead of a document that sits in a drawer.

The best to start with are an IEP Accommodations Matrix and an IEP At-A-Glance. These two will get you where you need to be. 

What is the best way to introduce myself to general education teachers before the year starts?

Lead with curiosity, not the IEP. Ask about their classroom routines, what has worked well for them with inclusion in the past, and how they prefer to communicate. Share something useful right away, like a summary of how you like to work and what you bring to the partnership. Save the formal IEP conversation for after the relationship has started.

How do I document accommodation compliance without it feeling punitive?

Frame documentation as a shared record, not a paper trail. Follow up conversations with a brief confirmation, like “just wanted to note what we discussed so I can make sure I follow through,” and keep your tone collaborative. Regular data dialogues make this feel like communication rather than surveillance.

When should I involve my administrator?

When the student’s inclusive learning environment is being materially affected, when you have had the same conversation more than twice without change, or when there is a clear compliance issue. Come with documentation, a specific ask, and evidence that you have already tried to resolve it collaboratively. If professional development for the team would help, advocate for that too.

What if there is no shared planning time built into our schedule?

Advocate for it as a student support issue, not a personal preference. If you’re going to “co-teach” you need to actually plan how that looks. Bring it up at the master schedule level if you have access to those conversations. In the meantime, build micro-touchpoints that do not require a meeting: a quick two-minute check-in at a predictable time, a shared digital note, or a simple standing question once a week.

How often should special education teachers check in with general education teachers?

Once a week is a reasonable baseline for inclusion settings. It does not have to be formal, but consistency is vital. A two-minute hallway conversation everyday counts. The goal is enough consistency that nothing builds up unaddressed and the relationship stays warm even during busy stretches. Now, ideally, you would actually have co-planning time. But we get what we get, and we do our best to make it work. 

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