In 1974, the Education for all Handicapped Protection Act was signed into law by President Gerald Ford. This law which was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990, established a federal entitlement to special education for eligible students with disabilities. In 1982 and again in 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

Teachers and parents often find special education law complex and confusing. As one step for a basic foundation in special education law, a previous "TEACHING Exceptional Children" article (Zirkel, 2005) provided a snapshot of the "top five case concepts" based on 10 decisions from the Supreme Court. Each of these decisions…

Special education has been the subject of many rulings in federal courts. These rulings have greatly affected the practice of special education. The most important of these cases have come from the U.S. Supreme Court, which thus far has heard 12 cases directly affecting special education. This article examines the most important of these special…

The process of providing students with disabilities access to an education that is of appropriate quality is still a relatively new endeavor. Students with disabilities benefit from the support of family, educators, and many other professionals addressing the inequality that is faced in school. Ultimately, progress has been achieved from…

This article begins by describing a scenario in which a fourth-grade learning disabled student's individualized education program (IEP) team came together to develop his IEP and in so doing made a number of procedural and substantive errors. The purpose of this article is to examine the procedural and substantive requirements of the Individuals…

Author Michael Wehmeyer began his career in special education shortly after the passage of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA). In those early days, he recounts, students with disability were mostly segregated from other children, and many of the adults…

This Practice Brief was developed as a result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Leadership Forum in Chicago, Illinois, and is not intended to provide comprehensive legal guidance. Districts/schools should consult with their district's legal resources for deciding on legal…

On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District." This case addressed the question how much educational benefit are public schools required to provide to students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to confer a free appropriate…

The Supreme Court case of "Endrew F. v. Douglas County District RE"-1 (2017) has renewed interest in the Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). The court's ruling expands the term "appropriate" to a consideration of progress for academics and behavior. This shift…

This article concludes this special issue by highlighting some of the most important points from the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in "Board of Education v. Rowley" (1982) and "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District" (2017) but also discussing another crucial point to which school district personnel must adhere to ensure…

Thirty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in "Rowley" (1982). The case, which was the first special education case to be heard by the Court, ruled on the question of what constituted Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for students with disabilities under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of…

Postsecondary transition planning for students with disabilities first entered the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. The required provisions for transition planning were updated with the amendments to IDEA in 1997 and its reauthorization in 2004. Since IDEA 2004 took effect in July 2005, 11 court cases have been decided…

This article presents a due process hearing case study of a mother who contended that his son, D.J., has been denied of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) of his School District after being suspended from school. D.J., an elementary student, had been described as hyperactive, inattentive, defiant, and often volatile. He was identified…

June 22, 2007, was the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley (hereafter Rowley; 1982). In Rowley, the Supreme Court interpreted congressional intent in requiring that public schools provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with…