Nine months after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled on the rights of students with disabilities, the USDOE has published a guidance paper. The nine-page Q&A document distills key points in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. It outlines ways in which educators, parents and other stakeholders should apply the SCOTUS ruling in real-world situations, describes how the ruling fits into existing case law, clarifies how FAPE is defined, and what standard should be used to determine if the mandate has been met.
Last March, SCOTUS issued a unanimous decision finding that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides students with disabilities the right to more than minimal progress from one year to the next. They confirmed that each child’s IEP “must be appropriately ambitious in light of (a child’s) circumstances, just as advancement from grade to grade is appropriately ambitious for most children in the regular classroom, concluding that while goals may differ, “every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives.”
In the Q&A, the USDOE said that IEPs must include goals that aim to improve both functional and educational performance. In addition, IEP teams must reconsider a student’s plan if the child is not making expected progress toward annual goals.
In a statement, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said, “The Supreme Court sent a strong and unanimous message: all children must be given an opportunity to make real progress in their learning environment — they cannot simply be passed along from year to year without meaningful improvement,” adding that “all children, especially those with disabilities, must be provided the support needed to empower them to grow and achieve ambitious goals.”
To read the SCOTUS decision, click here.
To see the USDOE Q&A, click here.
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