The Four Faces of a Free Appropriate Public Education

Individuals With Disabilities ◽

Professional Orientation ◽

Free Appropriate Public Education ◽

Legal Standards ◽

Empirical Analyses

This article delineates the four successive dimensions of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA) central obligation of “free appropriation public education” that the courts have developed thus far: (a) procedural, (b) substantive, (c) incomplete implementation of the last individualized education program (IEP), and (d) incomplete implementation of the next IEP. This current snapshot cites illustrative cases and, to the extent available, empirical analyses. The final recommendation warns against lowering practice and policies to the minimum legal standards for each of these four “faces,” instead using them as organizing counter-markers for a proactive professional orientation.

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

Laws ◽

10.3390/laws10020038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

Michael Rozalski ◽

Mitchell L. Yell ◽

Jacob Warner

Keyword(s):

Special Education ◽

Public Education ◽

Education Program ◽

Related Services ◽

Free Appropriate Public Education ◽

Substantive Content ◽

State Education ◽

Education Agency ◽

Education Act

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.

Book Review: Developing and Implementing IDEA-IEP: an Individualized Education Program (IEP) Handbook for Meeting Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Requirements

Remedial and Special Education ◽

10.1177/07419325030240020702 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 128-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lynn Cresson

Keyword(s):

Education Program ◽

Individuals With Disabilities ◽

Disabilities Education Act ◽

Education Act

Project Plan: A Computer-Supported Individualized Education Program

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e463452008-304 ◽

1969 ◽

Author(s):

John C. Flanagan ◽

Howard F. Hjelm

Keyword(s):

Education Program ◽

Project Plan

Student Involvement in Individualized Education Program Meetings

Council review ◽

10.1177/001440290407000401 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 391-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

David W. Test ◽

Christine Mason ◽

Carolyn Hughes ◽

Moira Konrad ◽

Melia Neale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Education Program ◽

Student Involvement ◽

Individualized Education

Teacher Education and Special Education The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children ◽

An Investigation of Facilitated Individualized Education Program Meeting Practice: Promising Procedures That Foster Family–Professional Collaboration

10.1177/0888406417739677 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 67-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tracy Gershwin Mueller ◽

Anna Moriarity Vick

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Education Program ◽

Future Research ◽

Professional Collaboration ◽

Foster Family ◽

Iep Meeting ◽

Team Planning ◽

Parking Lot

There is limited research about effective Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting practices that promote family–professional collaboration. One emerging practice, the Facilitated IEP (FIEP) meeting, has recently gained national attention for its team-based approach. In this study, the authors interview 32 FIEP participants about their experiences with the process. Findings reveal five meeting procedures that encourage active team planning, collaboration, and problem solving between families and professionals, including premeeting with families, establishing and following a meeting agenda, using meeting norms, utilizing a parking lot for off-topic issues, and visual charting for graphic support during team discussion and problem solving. In this article, the authors present the implications of these procedural practices as a promising structure for IEP meetings that can be used by professionals to collaborate and involve families throughout the IEP meeting process. Implications for future research are also discussed.