Defining FAPE

Many things have changed since the creation of laws deeming all students in the United States eligible for Free and Appropriate

Public Education or FAPE. This pivotal acronym establishes that all eligible students with disabilities “will” be educated at public expense. It details how a child with a disability is entitled to a quality education that is appropriate for his or her learning capacity, tailored to the specific needs outlined in the child’s

IEP or Individual Education Plan.

Further, the public school system must cover the costs for what the IEP committee deems appropriate for the child. The education must also be provided to every school-aged child who has a disability, creating a program aligned to work with the child’s unique needs, while granting access to the general education curriculum and aspiring to meet State grade level standards. Rights under FAPE are guaranteed by both the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Act or IDEA.

What many parents of students who struggle to grasp the material may not realize, is that their child may qualify for support through additional services. However, the support services require the parents to grant the school district permission to test their child for a disability. Occasionally, even with teacher referrals for testing, parents will reject the notion that their child could be considered eligible for special services. The reality is that children who are recognized as struggling learners early in their academic career, may benefit dramatically from early intervention services to help adjust their learning deficit areas and get them on-track with their chronological peers, allowing them to exit special services. Avoiding acknowledging the problem with a child struggling to learn on a traditional pace early, may prevent him from ever being able to establish the traditional trajectory.

Additionally, children who are assessed and determined to meet eligibility requirements for special services are typically set with an IEP meeting whereby a committee composed of a combination of the parents, a general curriculum educator, a special needs educator, a special education administrator, the school psychologist or testing director, and perhaps a local administrator work to articulate and identify the child’s strengths and weaknesses. They then craft a plan to facilitate moving the child out of his deficit toward mastery. The tools and strategies for such plans vary as dramatically as the needs of the child. Occasionally, a child may simply need additional time on task or supplemental instruction to be able to master the material. There may be instances where assignments must be modified or instructional processes adjusted to ensure that the child understands the directions and has the support necessary to complete facets of the work. There are even instances where work must be established from an earlier cognitive level to allow the child to master the foundational skills before matriculating to the more complex applications.

The mission is for the team to work cooperatively for the benefit of the child, focusing on maximizing his or her academic outcomes to ensure the best possible strategies are selected. Furthermore, each year the child’s progress is analyzed to determine if a different approach or delivery system should be established. This allows an opportunity to recognize the child’s progress to date to ensure that the plan is working and that next steps can be determined. Collectively, FAPE, supported by IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, work to ensure that children for whom the traditional curriculum appears misaligned, are afforded an opportunity to have their specific learning modes analyzed and adjusted within the school setting to help them maximize their learning with the goal of returning to the traditional environment once the deficits are effectively managed.

For parents interested in learning more, detailed explanations of many of the facets of special education can be found at the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://www2.ed.gov . Working together, educators and parents can establish a learning unit designed to facilitate individual student, academic advancement by highlighting the child’s strengths and supporting his needs.

Dr. Angela Farmer is a lifelong educator, a syndicated columnist, and an author. As an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership for Mississippi State University, she can be reached at asfarmer@colled.msstate.edu