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Free appropriate public education (FAPE) is a principal and statutory requirement of U.S. federal law requiring states and their local education agencies (i.e., individual school districts in the state) to educate students with disabilities as a part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Pub. L. No. 105–17). The law requires school districts to provide special education and related services at public expense without cost to parents.

Definitions of the Component Parts of FAPE

According to sections 300.300 to 300.313 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the term free appropriate public education, or FAPE, means special education and related services that

  • are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge;
  • meet the standards of the State Education Agency;
  • include preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State; and
  • are provided in conformity with an individualized education program (IEP) that meets the requirements of §§300.340–300.350.

FAPE is clearly defined in the applicable laws and has been further defined by case law.

Free

A free education means one that is provided at public expense without cost to parents. Typically, school districts bear the cost for all instructional and related services for an eligible student, though when costs are considered to be extraordinary, districts may apply to their states for reimbursement.

Appropriate

Historically, students with disabilities were placed in disability-specific classrooms whether that placement would provide them an “appropriate” education or not. The term appropriate, however, has caused confusion both before and after the implementation of the act. What one parent, supervisor, principal, or teacher finds appropriate, another might deem inappropriate. This term has caused a great deal of confusion relating to the education of students with disabilities. The Supreme Court tried to help define the definition on appropriateness in Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley (1982).

Amy Rowley was a child with a hearing impairment who was fully mainstreamed in regular education except for one hour of instruction by a hearing therapist. She also received speech therapy and had the use of an FM amplification system. Her classroom performance was better than average when measured against her peers, and she was advancing regularly from grade to grade. It was also clear that if Amy had the benefit of a sign language interpreter at all times she would have performed even better. Keep in mind that the achievement of passing marks and advancing from grade to grade was viewed by the Court as “one important factor in determining educational benefit.” Amy was not only passing from grade to grade, she was in the upper half of her class. However, the Court went on to say in Rowley, “We do not hold today that every handicapped child who is advancing from grade to grade in regular public schools is automatically receiving a free appropriate public education.” Further, the Court stated, “We do not attempt today to establish any one test for determining the adequacy of educational benefits conferred upon all children covered by the Act.”

The Court adopted the following general principles for determining when a program is

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