Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District – SCOTUS decides fate of FAPE!

After many years of very real and significantly different holdings amongst our federal circuit courts, this Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on the proper construction and implementation of a Free and Appropriate Public Education, FAPE. All public schools are required to provide a FAPE to its special needs students in accordance with the Individuals with Disability Education Act, IDEA .  On January 11th SCOTUS will question attorneys on both sides in helping decide the fate of a 5th grader (along with countless others disabled students across the US). The Endrew appeal was brought on behalf of a young boy with autism whose parents sued the local school system in seeking real help in the education of their young child. After so many years of uncertainty and debate arising from the proper definition and implementation of the word “appropriate” within a FAPE; a crucial part of student qualified as disabled under the IDEA, the Supreme Court’s decision in this appeal will be felt in public schools across our nation. See https://goo.gl/O2miKy for an excellent discussion of this important case.