In This Issue ...

• FAPE: What the Law Requires


• Educational Benefit v. Best Education


• Caselaw: Your Roadmap to FAPE


• The Legal Concept of FAPE

Circulation: 90,637
ISSN: 1538-320
October 23, 2012

If you have a child with a disability, your child is entitled to FAPE under the IDEA. What does this mean? Your child will receive a:

• free appropriate public education (FAPE)
• in the least restrictive environment (LRE)

In this issue of the Special Ed Advocate you will learn about the legal concept of FAPE, who is responsible for providing a free, appropriate public education and what the courts have said about how it is delivered.

Please don't hesitate to forward this issue to other friends, families, or colleagues.

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FAPE: What the Law Requires

In order to provide FAPE, the law requires schools to provide services that are individualized to meet the unique needs of each child.

Read Individualized Instruction is Not One-Size-Fits All

"Meaningful Educational Benefit" v. "Best Education"

How will you know if your child is receiving "meaningful educational benefit"?

In Who is Responsible for Providing FAPE? Pete and Pam provide answers to your questions about how to determine if your child's IEP is appropriate and provides FAPE.

How will you know if the school is providing FAPE? What factors make a special education program appropriate? Inappropriate?

The decision in Evans v. Rhinebeck provides a roadmap to FAPE. Learn about procedural and substantive issues, educational benefit, and how to use test scores to show educational benefit.

The Legal Concept of FAPE

The legal concept of FAPE is defined in IDEA at 20 U. S. C. § 1401(9).

The IDEA statute and implementing regulations emphasize the requirement to educate children with disabilities in regular classes with their nondisabled peers. Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition

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