Department issues Q&A on Free Appropriate Public Education following Supreme Court decision
WASHINGTON (Dec. 7, 2017)—The Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) released a Question-and-Answer document addressing the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District Re-1, which clarified the scope of the free appropriate public education (FAPE) requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The Court held that “to meet its substantive obligation under the IDEA, a school must offer [a child] an [individualized education program] IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”
The Q-&-A document provides an overview of the facts and issue in the case, a discussion of the IDEA FAPE requirements and includes questions addressing implementation considerations.
OSERS is interested in receiving comments from families, teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders to assist us in identifying implementation questions and best practices that may inform future guidance on this decision.
OSERS will use the comments to identify implementation questions and best practices that may inform future department guidance on IDEA and FAPE.
Those interested in submitting comments should email OSERS at EndrewF@ed.gov.
View U.S. Department of Education Press Release.
Download Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District Case Q&A (PDF, 561KB).
Last modified on August 28, 2018