Free Appropriate Public Education

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is an educational right of children with disabilities in the United States that is guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under Section 504, FAPE is defined as “the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet individual needs of handicapped persons as well as the needs of non-handicapped persons are met and based on adherence to procedural safeguards outlined in the law.” Under the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child's unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit. The United States Department of Education issues regulations that define and govern the provision of FAPE.

To provide FAPE to a child with a disability, schools must provide students with an education, including specialized instruction and related services, that prepares the child for further education, employment, and independent living.

The 1958 The Captioned Films Act, Public Law 85-905 and the Professional Personnel Act of 1959, Public Law 86-158, increased the types and amount of training individuals received in learning how to educate children with mental retardation. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, PL 92-424, and State School’s Act, PL 89- 313, were both passed by Congress in 1965 which gave states grant assistance for educating children with disabilities.

In the 1971 court case Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC), 343 Fed. Supp. 279, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the court decided that a state could not deny, put off, or end any intellectually disabled student's access to a public education. The decision was reached after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was sued by The Pennsylvania Board of Education, thirteen school districts, and the state’s secretaries of education and public welfare. The ruling determined that education should be viewed as a continuous process, focused not only on academics, but on teaching individuals how to handle their surroundings.

In Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 348 F. Supp. 866 n a group of students labeled mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and hyperactive by DC public schools filed a civil action suit against DC public schools after being denied admission into the public school system without due process, as entitled to them within the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The courts reversed the school’s ruling and declared that all children, regardless of their physical, mental, or emotional disability within the District of Columbia were entitled to a free and publicly sanctioned education.

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