Important legislation has demanded the education of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Administrators, principals and educators in the local schools are impacted tremendously by this decision. The necessity to provide an appropriate education for special needs children while successfully implementing inclusion is a priority of all stakeholders. The need to ensure compliance with federal and state laws while providing a quality education to all children with disabilities is a primary concern. This concern has given impetus for this research study.

This study examined the attitudes of 189 middle school principals in the state of Tennessee toward inclusion. The study was guided by three research questions related to (a) determining the middle school principals' attitudes toward inclusion; (b) determining if a significant correlation existed between principals' attitudes and selected demographic factors and (c) determining if principals' attitudes regarding inclusion related to their training and professional experience. SPSS software was used to analyze data collected from the Principals and Inclusion Survey.

The study explored the middle schools principals' responses to opinions regarding placement of children with disabilities. Generally, middle school principals have positive attitudes toward inclusion and the placement of children with disabilities in the regular education classroom. There was a significant difference in how principals responded on the survey according to the principals' age, years of full time experience as a regular education or special education teacher and approximate number of in-service hours in inclusive practices.

The study also indicated when class size was lower, principals tended to agree that students without disabilities profited by being in contact with disabilities. There was no significant difference based on gender or race in how middle school principals felt toward inclusion. The age of the principal was significant in that younger principals tended to disagree more often than older principals that only teachers with extensive special education experience should be expected to deal with students with disabilities.