What is FAPE, and How Do I Help My Child With a Disability Receive It?

Do you have a child with a disability who receives special education
services? Does your child with a learning disability still struggle
academically, even with the services? This article will give parenting
tips on what FAPE is, and how you can help your child receive it.

FAPE stands for a "Free Appropriate Public Education." Below are two
different definitions for FAPE:

1. The definition of Free Appropriate Public Education under IDEA is
special education and related services that are provided at public
expense, meet state standards, are appropriate, and are provided in
conformity with an IEP. IDEA can be downloaded at http://idea.ed.gov.

2. The United States Supreme Court several years ago issued a legal
definition of FAPE. It is defined as special education and related
services that are designed to meet the child’s unique needs, gives
meaningful benefit, and has been given at no charge to the parents.
Case law which is state federal and Supreme Court rulings, can be
found at www.wrightslaw.com.

FAPE is one of the most difficult concepts for parents and special
education personnel to understand and agree on. The Supreme Court
states that children with disabilities must receive meaningful
benefit, in order to receive FAPE. In a more recent Supreme Court
ruling (N.R. vs Kingwood Township), the court decided that the IEP
must allow the child significant learning and give meaningful benefit.
For Example: If your fourth-grade child is reading at a first-grade
level, and disability educators want to write a goal that his reading
level increase three months in one year of special education, that is
not allowing your child to receive significant learning. Your child
will continue to fall further behind his grade and age appropriate
peers. Once a child is behind academically it is extremely difficult
to catch up with his/her peers.

You can help your child receive FAPE by doing the following things:

1. Have high expectations for your child. With appropriate instruction
your child should be able to keep up with their age and grade
appropriate peers.

2. Make sure that your child is receiving appropriate instruction
for their areas of disability. If your child has a learning disability
in reading, there are curriculums that will help your child learn to
read.

3. Make sure that your child’s teacher is trained in the appropriate
instruction. Some reading programs recommend that a teacher be
certified in the specific method, in order to use the method
effectively.

4. Make sure that your child is receiving the appropriate instruction
for a long enough time that will help them make progress.A lot of
curriculums recommend amount of instruction time; make sure these
times are followed.

5. Make sure that the curriculum that is being used is research-based.
This means that there is research that proves that the curriculum
works to help children learn.

By following the above suggestions you will be on your way to ensuring
that your child receives a free appropriate public education. You must
be assertively persistent and vigilant if your child is to learn and
have a full life!