This research paper presents and compares aspects of theory and practice for inclusive education in Brazil. Brazilian policy on inclusive education and implementation strategies seek to guarantee access, attendance, and quality education for students with special needs in regular school. Although there are many studies about the legal aspects and the implementation for inclusive school policy, there seems to be a gap between theory and what actually happens in local schools. The Federal government focused on 144 cities intending to promote interaction between administration policies and educational practices in local schools. Based on the perceptions of Special Education administrators of the selected São Paulo cities, the aim of this study is to identify those actions that were implemented according to national directives for special education in the regular school system for Primary Education. Six Special Education Departments of these cities participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires, with open and closed questions. The results show that in these cities in the state of São Paulo, the administrators are aware of national public policy regulations; provisions also are in place to promote teacher preparation, continuing education courses and support for teachers. There is transportation, accessibility and access to some educational resources necessary for students with special needs in the regular school. However, there is no statistical information about the total population of special need students in each city; the number of students with disabilities enrolled in regular schools is still very small. Besides these limitations, there are few multidisciplinary teams, and scant collaboration of state departments in Special Education initiatives.
evaluation; public policy; inclusive education; regular school; special education
