Common FAPE Deficiencies That Lead To Compensatory Education

When a School District Fails to Provide FAPE: Understanding What Common Deficiencies In Educational Programming Lead to Compensatory Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to provide eligible students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE is delivered primarily through an individualized education program (IEP) designed to address the student’s indivdiual educational needs.

The United States Supreme Court has held that an IEP must be reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances. Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 580 U.S. 386 (2017).

When a school district fails to meet this FAPE obligation, one potential remedy is compensatory education. The remedy of compensatory education can be extremely valuable to a student if properly established and used. In basic terms, compensatory education is intended to remedy educational opportunities the student lost because FAPE was not provided.

Common FAPE Violations That Can Lead to Compensatory Education

Although every student’s circumstances are different, numerous common and recurring problems frequently result in a denial of FAPE to a student.

1. Inadequate or Inappropriate IEPs

An IEP must be individualized. Problems arise when IEP goals are not measurable, services are insufficient, accommodations do not address the student’s needs, or the school district repeatedly proposes substantially similar programs despite evidence that the student is not making meaningful educational progress. IDEA does not require that a school offer some educational benefit; the program must be reasonably calculated to produce progress appropriate for the individual child.

2. Failure to Implement the IEP

An appropriate IEP is ineffective even if the school does not provide the services it promises. Missed specialized instruction, speech or occupational therapy, behavioral services, one-to-one support, or other required services may contribute to a denial of FAPE when the failure is sufficiently significant. Additionally, the inconsistent implementation of a student’s IEP can lead to compensatory education exposure.

3. Failure to Timely Identify or Evaluate a Student

School districts have an affirmative obligation commonly known as “Child Find” to identify and evaluate students who may require special education. A school district’s failure to evaluate a struggling student, or an unreasonable delay in initiating and completing an evaluation, can postpone needed services and result in significant educational loss.

4. Failure to Respond to Lack of Progress

Consistent and accurate progress monitoring matters. When data demonstrates that a student is not making educational progress, the IEP team should determine why and consider changes to the student’s program. Simply continuing an ineffective program year after year often lead to compensatory education liability.

5. Inadequate Behavioral Programming

For some students, behavior substantially interferes with learning. Failing to appropriately assess behavioral needs or provide necessary positive behavioral interventions and supports can prevent the student from accessing instruction in school. Repeated disciplinary removals without adequately addressing the disability-related behavior may compound the educational loss. Many school districts struggle substantially in timely and comprehensively addressing students’ behavior through IEPs.

6. An Inappropriate Placement or Insufficient Services

An educational placement must be capable of implementing the student’s IEP and meeting the student’s identified educational needs. A school district cannot allow administrative convenience, staffing shortages, funding limitations, or the programs it happens to have available to interfere with the special education programming that a student requires and is legally and educationally entitled to under the IDEA.

What Are The Benefits Of Compensatory Education To A Student?

Compensatory education is fundamentally a remedial remedy. Its purpose is to address the educational harm resulting from a school district’s failure to provide FAPE. Depending upon the circumstances, compensatory relief may include funding from the school district for tutoring, specialized instruction, therapies, behavioral services, transition programming, assistive technology, private evaluations, mileage reimbursement, and other educational services.

The critical questions include what educational opportunities the student lost, how the denial of FAPE affected the student, and what educational programming and services are necessary to remedy that loss.

For parents, careful documentation of evaluations, IEPs, progress data, communications, missed services, behavioral incidents, and concerns raised with the school can be critically important when determining whether a student has been denied FAPE and whether compensatory education may be warranted.

If you need assistance in securing an appropriate special education for your child in school, please contact us at (215) 383 – 4561 or info@wvgllp.com and we will provide a free consultation. We look forward to speaking with you.