Sunday, September 23, 2012

5 Things to Know About Free Appropriate Public Education and Special Education

Do you have a child with autism or a learning disability and you are concerned about their education? Does your child with Dyslexia struggle with their academics even though they are receiving special education services? Free Appropriate Public Education is a right for all children receiving special education services. This article will discuss 5 things that you will need to know about FAPE, to help your child receive it.
1. The legal definition of FAPE is: special education and related services that are designed to meet the child's unique needs, gives meaningful benefit, and has been given at no charge to the parents. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) includes and Individual Education Plan that is designed to meet the child's unique educational needs and gives meaningful benefit.
2. The Supreme Court Case that gave us this definition of FAPE is Board of Education Vs. Rowley 458 US 176 in 1982. You may be able to use this case in the future if you have a dispute with your school district over FAPE.
3. In the Rowley Case the justices determined that there are two areas that must be met to determine if a child with a disability is receiving FAPE:
A. Procedural Requirements: Did the district follow the correct procedural requirements and provisions in developing the child's IEP?
B. Will the IEP developed by the school district give the child meaningful educational benefit.
If either one of these is not done by the school district, then it means that the child is not receiving a free appropriate public education.
4. IDEA 2004 states that a procedural violation must rise to the level of substantive violation, to constitute a lack of FAPE. In other words the procedural violation must be a major violation, in order to be a violation of FAPE. Some hearing officers and courts have found that parents being denied the ability of being an equal participant in their child's IEP, is a substantive violation which is a denial of FAPE.
5. A new recent court case N.R. vs. Kingwood Township the court states that the IEP must allow the child: significant learning and give meaningful benefit. Use this definition to determine if your child's IEP is going to allow them significant learning and give meaningful benefit.
By understanding what Free Appropriate Public Education is and having knowledge of court cases you will be able to help your child receive a Free Appropriate Public Education.

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