The Supreme Court, Endrew, and the Appropriate Education of Students With Disabilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rutherford Turnbull ◽  
Ann P. Turnbull ◽  
David H. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Board Of Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Education Decision ◽  
Education Of Students ◽  
Appropriate Education ◽  
Decision Board

In this article, we analyze the Supreme Court’s decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 (2017), interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its provisions creating a right of every student with a disability to have an appropriate education. We compare the Endrew decision with IDEA and the Court’s previous appropriate education decision, Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley (1982), on four key concepts: educational program, reasonably calculated, progress, and child’s circumstances. We discuss the case’s implications for systems capacity development and interpret Endrew as a narrative about students’ ethical claim to dignity.

Bullying and Harassment of Students With Disabilities in Schools

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 274-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Antonis Katsiyannis ◽  
Chad A. Rose ◽  
David E. Houchins
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Legal Risks ◽  
Peer Bullying ◽  
Education Act ◽  
State Educational

Bullying is a common occurrence in U.S.’s schools and is currently at the forefront of national attention. Unfortunately, students with disabilities are frequently the targets of peer-on-peer bullying. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal ramifications when students with disabilities are bullied in school settings. We address court cases, state educational agency decisions, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) guidance, and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) rulings that have held that bullying may violate Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. School personnel must address the bullying of students with disabilities in a quick and efficient manner. In fact, these decisions show that when bullying is not stopped, school district officials and personnel may be subjecting their school districts to legal risks. We end by proposing how school district officials can develop legally sound policies for identifying, investigating, and responding to incidences of bullying of students with disabilities.

Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2017): The U.S. Supreme Court and Special Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. T. Prince ◽  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Antonis Katsiyannis
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School District ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Free Appropriate Public Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
The U.S

On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. This case addressed the question how much educational benefit are public schools required to provide to students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to confer a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The purpose of this legal update is to provide a brief overview of court developments regarding FAPE, summarize Endrew, and provide implications for practice.

Legal Standards for an Appropriate Education in the Post-Rowley Era

1992 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 488-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan G. Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Individualized Education Program ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Educational Benefit ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Recent Approach ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Liberal Approach ◽  
Appropriate Education

In 1982 the U. S. Supreme Court held that an appropriate education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was one that was formulated in accordance with the Act's procedures and that conferred some educational benefit on students with disabilities. Initially, the lower courts applied this terminology strictly and approved any proposed individualized education program that conferred even minimal educational benefit. However, later courts began to take a more liberal approach and held that the educational-program must confer some meaningful benefit. A careful reading of the Supreme Court's 1982 decision indicates that this recent approach is consistent with Congress's and the Court's intent. The Court never intended to establish one test of appropriateness since it recognized that some flexibility was needed to determine what would be appropriate for a diverse population of students with disabilities.

Least Restrictive Environment and the Education of Children with Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Education Law ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Appropriate Education

This chapter discusses the obligation in the federal special education law to provide education to children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. It describes the relevant statutory and regulatory provisions and the prominent cases, and explores ongoing scholarly controversies about the least restrictive environment requirement and its application. The chapter observes that disputes over the least restrictive environment for a given child are often disputes over the range of accommodations and services that the schools must provide so that appropriate education of a child with disabilities may be achieved without separating the child from peers who do not have disabilities. Both the text and the judicial interpretations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act operate in such a way that the negative command to not segregate students with disabilities becomes a positive command to afford services to make inclusive education work. The chapter concludes by briefly comparing the developments in the United States with those in other countries.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Successful Inclusion for Students With Disabilities Who Are Learning English

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-5
Author(s):  
Tracy G. Spies ◽  
Gregory A. Cheatham
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Practices ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
General Curriculum ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Education Of Students ◽  
Learning English

Students who are learning English is one of the fastest growing groups of students in U.S. public schools. Evidence suggests that students learning English are often placed in segregated special education classrooms seemingly contradicting the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act mandate for the education of students with disabilities to occur within the least restrictive environment including modifications and adaptations to the general curriculum. Successful inclusive practices for students with disabilities who are learning English highlight and build on the cultural, academic, and linguistic strengths students bring to the classroom. This special issue features a variety of articles focused on collaborative, inclusive practices that build on the cultural, academic, and linguistic strengths of students with disabilities who are learning English. The issue focuses on two themes: (a) instruction and support and (b) collaboration and partnerships.

The Supreme Court Has Spoken

2019 ◽  
pp. 600-614
Author(s):  
Thomas Hehir
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Schools ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Free Appropriate Public Education ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Education Of Students

Two 2017 decisions of the United States Supreme Court could powerfully impact the education of students with disabilities. Frye v. Napoleon Community Schools (2017) addressed whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) entitled a student with physical disabilities to use a service dog in school. Endrew v. Douglas County School District (2017) addressed whether a child with autism was denied a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) within the meaning of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Taken together these cases underscore core principles in both statutes. The Endrew decision clarifies that the fundamental entitlement in IDEA of FAPE is a substantive one requiring schools to offer an individualized education plan (IEP) that is “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” The Frye decision clarifies that the ADA applies to school-age children when discrimination, not FAPE, is at issue. The chapter cautions against over reliance on court decisions alone to improve educational opportunity for students with disabilities and proposes reforms that seek to improve the capacity of schools to provide improved educational opportunity for students with disabilities.

Endrew and FAPE: Concepts and Implications for All Students With Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Kauffman ◽  
Andrew L. Wiley ◽  
Jason C. Travers ◽  
Jeanmarie Badar ◽  
Dimitris Anastasiou
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
School Day ◽  
Education Act

The opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Endrew case has implications for the education of all students with disabilities. Implications for several categories of disability are discussed: those with autism spectrum disorder and those with disabilities often considered high incidence, particularly those placed for a significant portion of their school day in general education. The aspects of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act most relevant to the Endrew case are also compared with Article 24 of the United Nations’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The opinion in Endrew may affect the course of special education and the role of behavior modification in meeting the needs of all students with disabilities.

scholarly journals Making a Reasonable Calculation: A Strategic Amendment to the IDEA

2020 ◽  
pp. 495
Author(s):  
Hetali Lodaya
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
City School District ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Recent Evaluation

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) lays out a powerful set of protections and procedural safeguards for students with disabilities in public schools. Nevertheless, there is a persistent debate as to how far schools must go to fulfill their mandate under the IDEA. The Supreme Court recently addressed this question with its decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas City School District Re-1, holding that an educational program for a student with a disability must be “reasonably calculated” to enable a child’s progress in light of their circumstances. Currently, the Act’s statutory language mandates Individual Education Program (IEP) teams to consider a variety of factors including “the strengths of each child,” “the concerns of the parents,” “the results of the . . . most recent evaluation of the child,” and “the academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child.”1 This Note proposes an amendment to the IDEA, inspired by the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis framework used in business strategy, that adds external “threats” to this list of factors. This amendment will help parents, advocates, and schools better understand the Endrew F. standard and implement it with fidelity to the IDEA’s broad mandate.

scholarly journals Status of Inclusive Educational Placement for Students With Extensive and Pervasive Support Needs

Inclusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Morningstar ◽  
Jennifer A. Kurth
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Educational Placement ◽  
General Education Curriculum ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment

Abstract Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 established procedural mandates and accountability requirements ensuring all students with disabilities participate and progress in general education curriculum. Broadly speaking, improvements toward greater access have been found for many students with disabilities; however, the extent to which this holds true for students with extensive and pervasive support needs is not evident. Past research associated with least restrictive environment (LRE) for students with extensive and pervasive support needs was considered when replicating previous research using the cumulative placement rate to analyze LRE data for students with extensive and pervasive support needs (autism, intellectual disability, deaf blindness, and multiple disabilities). Results indicate that student with extensive and pervasive support needs have substantially less positive LRE placement trends over the past 15 years with most placed in separate classrooms and settings. Recommendations for transforming federal and state policies and procedures are shared.

The Foundation of Inclusion in Federal Legislation and Litigation

2017 ◽  
pp. 27-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell L. Yell ◽  
Christine A. Christle
Keyword(s):  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Least Restrictive Environment ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Student Placement ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Federal Mandate ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Restrictive Environment ◽  
Historical Antecedents

The foundation of inclusion in special education law is the least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This federal mandate requires that all students with disabilities receive their education with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. Our purpose in this chapter is to examine the legal basis of inclusion. We first review the historical antecedents of inclusion. Second, we examine the LRE mandate and the student placement requirements of the IDEA. Third, we survey the most important case law rulings regarding LRE and the placement of students with disabilities. Fourth, we consider strategies that have been used to promote inclusive placements and briefly review the literature on these strategies. We end this chapter by offering principles to guide IEP team members in making educationally beneficial and legally correct placement decisions for students with disabilities.

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