What is FAPE?
FAPE is an acronym that stands for free, appropriate, public education. Under the law, the school district is required to offer FAPE to every student on an IEP.
And every IEP must meet the standard of FAPE. If the IEP does not meet the standard of FAPE, there can be a legal challenge with potential remedies provided by a hearing officer.
The first part of the FAPE acronym is free. This means that the special education services and supports in the IEP must be free to the parent. The parent does not have to pay for the programming, the services, or anything that is contained in
the special education program. This could include services, like speech and language therapy, specialized academic instruction, behavior supports, assistive technology like an iPad, or even a private placement if it is required for the
student to receive FAPE.
The next acronym is appropriate. The IEP offer must be reasonably calculated to confer an educational benefit to the student with special needs. The question becomes did the IEP team create a program that addresses the unique needs of
the child? If it does, then the school district has gone a long way towards offering a FAPE.
Public means that the school district has the obligation to provide the IEP program. Keep in mind, however, that sometimes the programming and placement might be done through a private agency, not by the school district.
For example, if the school cannot find a district replacement for a speech therapist who went on maternity leave, the district may have to hire an outside private agency to provide the service. Or maybe, the school district cannot provide an appropriate placement for the child, so they have to contract with a private special education school in order to provide the appropriate placement.
And then finally, the acronym education. And as I’ve mentioned earlier, education is broader than just academics. It can include behavior, social skills, sensory skills, communication skills, etc. But the school district is only responsible to address
needs that relate to a child’s education. For example, if a child exhibits a lot of behavior problems at home but those behaviors don’t manifest themselves in the school setting, the school is not responsible for behaviors that only occur in the home.
But often times you see those kinds of behavior problems occurring in both in the home and in the school setting. In such a situation, the school district must address those behaviors that occur in the school setting.
In conclusion, the IEP must be appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances or needs, calculated to confer, but not promise, an educational benefit (with ambitious goals), and must be based upon what we know or should know about
the child’s unique needs.
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