High-leverage practices (HLPs) were developed and published by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for special educators and special education teacher candidates. Although the HLPs were initially designed to support students with disabilities to achieve content-area standards and meet social and emotional milestones, we know now that high-leverage practices can be used by general and special education teachers to help students with disabilities and students without disabilities to meet grade- and course-level expectations.

These strategies are well-suited for inclusive classrooms because they not only help meet the needs of students receiving specialized services, but they also model best practices that benefit all learners. As you read through the characteristics of these practices, note that they were developed with instruction for students with disabilities or learning struggles in mind. As such, in the explanation sections of these strategies, you will see mention of special-education related concepts such as IEP goal development, generalization of behavioral goals across settings, and systematically designed instruction towards learning goals. However, the research behind these strategies and their application demonstrate how they can be generalized to benefit all students in the classroom

These well-researched, trustworthy instructional practices are freely available through national centers like the IRIS Center and the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center.