Free Appropriate Public Education, the U.S. Supreme Court, and Developing and Implementing Individualized Education Programs

Michael Rozalski, Mitchell L. Yell and Jacob Warner
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Michael Rozalski: Ella Cline Shear School of Education, State University of New York at Geneseo, South Hall 219C, Geneseo, NY 14454, USA
Mitchell L. Yell: Wardlaw College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Jacob Warner: Broome-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Binghamton, NY 13905, USA

Laws, 2021, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990) established the essential obligation of special education law, which is to develop a student’s individualized special education program that enables them to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE was defined in the federal law as special education and related services that: (a) are provided at public expense, (b) meet the standards of the state education agency, (c) include preschool, elementary, or secondary education, and (d) are provided in conformity with a student’s individualized education program (IEP). Thus, the IEP is the blueprint of an individual student’s FAPE. The importance of FAPE has been shown in the number of disputes that have arisen over the issue. In fact 85% to 90% of all special education litigation involves disagreements over the FAPE that students receive. FAPE issues boil down to the process and content of a student’s IEP. In this article, we differentiate procedural (process) and substantive (content) violations and provide specific guidance on how to avoid both process and content errors when drafting and implementing students’ IEPs.

Keywords: individualized educational program; law/legal issues; policy; procedural; substantive (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D78 E61 E62 F13 F42 F68 K0 K1 K2 K3 K4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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