Who Gets to Go to Music Class? Exploring Access for Students in Self-Contained Special Education Classrooms in Ohio: Sam Webber
Back in fall 2022, Erin and I started a research project with one big question in mind: Are all elementary students getting access to music at school—including those in self-contained special education classrooms?
While many public schools have inclusive classrooms—those in which students with disabilities spend the majority of the school day with same-age peers without disabilities—some schools also offer self-contained classrooms for students. In a self-contained classroom, all the students have disabilities and typically spend most of their school day learning together, rather than in general education classrooms with their same-age peers.
As former K–5 music teachers, we’ve seen how easy it can be for these students to be unintentionally left out of music class—sometimes because of schedules, staffing, or even just misunderstandings about how to best support their needs. We focused our study on public schools in Ohio, where we had both lived. We wanted to get a clearer picture of what access looks like in practice, beyond our personal experiences as K–5 teachers.
We are excited to share that our study, “An Examination of Access to Music Education in Elementary Self-Contained Special Education Classrooms in Ohio,” was recently published in Contributions to Music Education (Volume 50)! You can find subscription info here: OMEA subscription link. It will also be available through JSTOR, RILM, and EBSCO starting in January 2027.
If you don’t have access through your school or university, feel free to reach out—I'm happy to share a pre-publication version with you!
If you can’t read the whole article, take a look at the summary below in which I share what we did, what we learned, and what this means for music teachers.
What We Did
We sent out a survey to special education coordinators across Ohio and received responses from 60 classroom teachers who teach self-contained elementary classrooms. They shared details about:
Whether their students had access to music at school
How their students’ access compared to general education students’ access
Their thoughts on the factors affecting the quality of access
What We Learned
Here are some key takeaways from the survey results:
In general, access seemed widespread:
95% of respondents said their students did have access to music at school.
Almost 90% of respondents shared that their students were able to access music at school at least once a week.
Although the participants’ students spent the majority of their day in a self-contained classroom, many attended music class with same-age peers from general education classrooms; Nearly 75% of respondents reported that this inclusion model was how their students accessed music at school.
BUT access wasn’t equal everywhere:
In urban districts, 30% of respondents said their students had less access to music than their peers in general education.
In suburban districts, 50% of respondents said their students had more access—including some who received music therapy as part of their school day.
Additionally, access was not always accessible or tailored to students’ needs.
Access is often shaped by scheduling and staffing.
72% said that things like paraprofessional availability or scheduling conflicts made a difference in whether students could consistently attend music. Survey respondents shared the following examples:
“Our building is K-12 and [we] share a music teacher with grades K-8th. Her schedule is packed and it is hard to receive music instruction that fits the students’ needs.”
“Some of [my students] need aides or extra adults to help them during class and we have to make sure that all of the adults involved also get their breaks and lunches so sometimes it is hard to fit specials into those restrictions.”
“If an aide is absent with no coverage and they are a 1-1 aide, then that student may not get to go to music class that day because there is no one able to take them.”
School culture and teacher attitudes matter.
60% of teachers pointed out that a school’s approach to inclusion—or a music teacher’s personal mindset—could either help or hurt the quality of instruction their students received. Survey respondents shared both negative and positive experiences:
“My students are treated like outsiders. Even though they are invited to music class, they are treated like they don’t belong there.”
“Our music teachers love to be the ones to teach our small group "adaptive" music class. They are very thoughtful with our students.”
There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Teachers emphasized the importance of offering different kinds of music experiences—whether that’s joining a general music class with appropriate differentiation, participating in a small adaptive group, or receiving one-on-one support—based on what each student needs.
“A lot of my students actually like and participate in music class because it is a lot of moving around and not a lot of sitting and listening which is hard for a lot of my students to do. Music connects with a lot of them.”
“Students attend music class with their nondisabled peers. Sometimes accommodations need to be provided, based on their IEPs.”
“Often my students receive music education but there lacks adapted musical instruments and modified instruction to meet their needs.”
What This Means for Music Teachers
Even if you are not the one making the master schedule or hiring paraprofessionals, you can make a difference in how students in self-contained classrooms experience music.
Here are a few practical steps you might consider:
Collaborate with intervention specialists or paraprofessionals to learn more about your students’ needs and strengths.
Advocate for your students to your administrators: If you join forces with other teachers at your school, you may be able to sway administration to make a difference for you students. Can you advocate for a modified music class for students who thrive in small-groups? Is your school able to purchase adaptive instruments so all students can succeed?
Seek out professional development focused on teaching students with disabilities, especially those with high support needs.
Shift your mindset: Start from the belief that every student is capable of musical expression—and that it is our job as teachers to help make that possible.
Ultimately, inclusion isn’t just about who’s present in the room. It’s about making sure every student feels welcomed, supported, and empowered to learn and make music—no matter what classroom they spend most of their day in.
GenAI Disclosure: I used ChatGPT 4o to revise my original draft of this post. I incorporated changes including clearer formatting, enhanced organization, and more succinct and accessible language.
