Running head: FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND LEAST RESTRICTIVE

ENVIRONMENT 1

Free Appropriate Public Education and Least Restrictive Environment

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Teachers must be aware of and preserve learners' and guardians' constitutional

protections, which are guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Fourteenth

Amendment. Pupils with impairments are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Act

and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. IDEA and Section 504 mandate that all

special needs pupils be schooled in the least restrictive environment possible. In addition, the two

requirements require that all disabled students obtain a free and adequate educational system,

generally known as FAPE (Roth et al., 2016). The least restrictive environment (LRE) is a

legislative concept contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's 20 U.S.C.

1412(a)(5) (IDEA). “To the highest degree reasonable, people with learning impairments, such

as kids in public or private establishments or other care centers, are schooled with pupils who are

not incapacitated, and individualized instruction, segregated educations, or other withdrawal of

children with special needs from the standard learning setting happens only when the natural

world or intensity of their disorders necessitates it,” according to the LRE stipulation of the

IDEA (Markelz & Bateman, 2021). This essay will look into the relationship between the two

provisions of the law, and the ramifications of the public policy on students.

According to Morse (2019), IDEA and Section 504's overall purpose is to ensure that all

children enrolled in specialized learning courses get unrestricted and adequate public education.

A Free Appropriate Public Schooling (FAPE) is when a disadvantaged kid's education fulfills

statutory academic standards. It also implies that the impaired child's unique requirements are

evaluated and that he or she is given suitable tools and opportunities to succeed in a traditional

school at no expense to the family of the learner. FAPE is centered on a child's particular

requirements and reaches beyond just setting great standards in the classrooms for children with

impairments (Roth et al., 2016). It's critical to analyze a child's talents as well as limitations to
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figure out what's acceptable and what's not in aspects of a person's aims, targets, cognitive

experiences, surroundings, and position. Various court rulings have examined the constitutional

restrictions on government spending and the desirability of education.

For example, in Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v.

Rowley, 458 U.S. 176 (1982), the Federal Judiciary considered the meaning of the 1975

Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Amy Rowley was a deaf child who was denied a

sign languages translator by her school. Her family brought a case alleging that the Education for

All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was violated (Markelz & Bateman, 2021). The Supreme

Court ruled in a 6-3 judgment written by Justice Rehnquist that state institutions are not

compelled by law to offer sign language translators to deaf children who are getting equitable

and appropriate schooling.

FAPE and LRE are related in that both protect the rights of kids with special needs and

ensure that they are treated equally in the classroom, and any violations of these rights result in

legal accountability for the party responsible. This is demonstrated by the reality that LRE

requires a disabled kid to be schooled in the same environment as non-disabled classmates to the

greatest degree practicable to guarantee that a disadvantaged child receives a free adequate

public education (FAPE). Earlier to the IDEA's passage, children with special needs were

categorized and isolated from their peers in traditional academic settings (Morse, 2019). The

IDEA does not expressly state what the LRE within each form of condition must consist of, so

not all LRE situations are simple. Inevitably, what LRE entails for one disabled person may

differ from what it entails for the next. The LRE provision's principal objective is to guarantee

that a student obtaining special schooling is integrated into the educational setting as often as

practicable.
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Daniel R.R. v. State Board of Education (1989), a significant lawsuit analyzing IDEA's

predecessor statute (EHA), found that disabled learners had an entitlement to be engaged in both

academic and nonacademic basic educational programs (Roth et al., 2016). The IDEA, however,

does not envision an all-or-nothing learning environment in which kids with impairments receive

either regular or specialized schooling, according to the Court. Instead, the Code and its

provisions mandate that schools provide an array of options. As a result, the school may need to

take possible factors, including positioning the learner in regular education for some school

subjects and distinctive literacy for others, popularizing the learner for non-academic courses

only (Morse, 2019), or allowing non-disabled learners to connect with the student through meals

and playtime.

Conclusion

The establishment of educational needs is Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). To serve learners with impairments, all educational

personnel and relatives must grasp these phrases. This is why, at the start of each school year, we

propose that executives, regular and specialized education instructors, as well as mobile and

support personnel, get education and instruction about FAPE in the LRE. LRE and FAPE are

two of the most important elements in the construction of a teenager's IEP (Markelz & Bateman,

2021). They have a big impact on how a youngster invests his or her school time, how resources

are delivered, and the interactions he or she builds at home and in school. FAPE and LRE are, in

fact, basic elements in developing an effective IEP that can enhance a kid's academic and

occupational achievements.
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References

Allan, J., & Artiles, A. J. (2016). World yearbook of education 2017: Assessment inequalities.

Taylor & Francis.

Alphin, J., Lavine, J., & Chan, R. (2017). Disability and equity in higher education

accessibility. IGI Global.

Markelz, A. M., & Bateman, D. F. (2021). The essentials of special education law. Rowman &

Littlefield.

McKenna, J. W., & Adamson, R. (2020). Inclusive instruction for students with emotional and

behavioral disorders: Pulling back the curtain. Lexington Books.

Morse, T. E. (2019). Response to intervention: Refining instruction to meet student needs.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Rodriguez, J. A., & Murawski, W. W. (2020). Special education law and policy: From

Foundation to application. Plural Publishing.

Roth, Zittel, L., Pyfer, J., & Auxter, D. (2016). Principles and methods of adapted physical

education & recreation. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.