What Exactly is "FAPE"?

This acronym gets thrown around a lot in IEP meetings and for Parents who are navigating the IEP process for the first time, it might be unclear what that really means.

"Free Appropriate Public Education"

At its most basic level, the term "FAPE" stands for "Free Appropriate Public Education." This is the legal right under the IDEA guaranteed to students with qualifying disabilities. Breaking the term down further: Free refers to the right that the students education has no out-of-pocket tuition costs for required special education or related support services. Public refers to the right that the students education is provided by the public school system.

What Is An "Appropriate" Education?

The most disputed aspect of "FAPE" is whether what the District has offered and provided your student is "appropriate." The Supreme Court has legally defined an appropriate education as "reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances." Endrew F.

The Court had essentially defined the term appropriate as . . . appropriate. But the definiton does give us a better sense of what any students education should look like in that we know that a student had to be able to make progress, but that progress is judged based on that student's individual abilities and circumstances.

When trying to understand what makes a student's education appropriate, it is almost easier to look at examples that are clearly not appropriate. For example, if your Student has a speech and language impairment that negatively impacts their ability to make progress, the District should offer speech and language services. If they do not, then that would be denying the Student an appropriate education.

You can measure whether your Student's education has been appropriate over the years by comparing their last few IEPs to their most recent ones. Compare each of the Present Levels of Performance, that indicate the Student's performance at the time of the IEP, and take a look at what goals your child has met, made progress on, or made no progress on.

If you notice that, for example, your Student's speech present levels have not significantly changed over a couple of years, or your student has consistently not met or made meaningful progress on their speech goals, then something about what the District is providing is not working as expected. If, in light of this information, the District makes no changes to the IEP in terms of Speech, then that would not be appropriate. It would no longer be reasonably calculated to ensure your student can make progress, since we already know it did not work.

Steps to Take if You Believe the IEP is not Appropriate

If you believe that your Student's IEP is not appropriate to meet their needs, when the IEP team asks if you have any concerns, explain what you believe is insufficient and why. If the District fails to respond to your concerns or continues to not make any changes that you believe are necessary, then you may wish to consider filing for due process.

Whether you want support in explaining to the IEP team why you think the IEP is not appropriate and want to enlist the help of an advocate, or think it's time to file, the Law Office of Meagan Nunez is available to help.