Direc�ons: Read the brief descrip�on of the IDEA procedural safeguard presented below. Then respond
to Part 1 and Part 2 of this assignment’s ques�on on FAPE.
IDEA Procedural Safeguard # 1 Free and Appropriate Public Educa�on (FAPE)
Descrip�on: According to the Individuals with Disabili�es Educa�on Act (IDEA), all children are afforded
the right to a free and appropriate public educa�on. This means, that irrespec�ve of a student’s
educa�onal needs, under the law (i.e., IDEA), they are afforded the right to access a free and appropriate
public educa�on. At �mes, the extent of a student’s educa�onal needs may extend outside of the range
of educa�onal services that their school district offers (e.g., students who may require a therapeu�c day
school placement but their school district may not have a therapeu�c day school within the district). In
this case, the school district would s�ll be responsible for loca�ng and paying for the appropriate service
to meet the educa�onal needs of the student even if the student required an educa�onal placement
outside of their home school district. Visit FAPE online
at htps://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html for more informa�on regarding
this procedural safeguard.
Part 1: Read the following scenario and in the first sentence of your assignment, state whether Michael
is eligible for his school district to pay all of his educa�onal costs or only part of the cost. Then explain
why or why not.
Scenario: Michael’s family lives in the ABC School District. He has been referred for special educa�on
services a�er teachers and his parents had tried several problem-solving efforts within his current school
and classroom se�ng to help meet his educa�onal needs. Results from Michael’s full case study
evalua�on suggest that he possesses behaviors consistent with an emo�onal disability and requires
special educa�on services for more than 50% of his school day in order to help meet his educa�onal
needs. Michael’s Individual Educa�on Program (IEP) team decides that he requires a therapeu�c day
placement in order to meet his educa�onal needs. An administrator within the ABC School District states
that the school district does not offer a therapeu�c day placement op�on for students and Michael must
atend a placement outside of the county. This placement will cost over $7,000 per month, but the ABC
School District has stated they can only pay $4,000 per month for an out-of-district therapeu�c day
placement. The quoted cost of over $7,000 per month is on the low end for a hal�ime placement for a
student. ABC School District explains the cost was not budgeted for and the school district claims they
simply do not have the money. Under FAPE, can the ABC School District offer to pay a part of the costs
of providing Michael with an appropriate educa�on as determined by the IEP team? State your answer
and then briefly explain.
In the very first sentence (not the second or third sentence)- tell me “yes this is acceptable” or “no this
is not acceptable”. Use exactly these words- I want your answer defini�ve. Use the rest of the paper to
support your point.
NO fence riding- one or the other. A lack of clarity will drop your grade! Strike words like “eligible, may
qualify, possibly qualify” from your paper.
Part 2: Explore the budget of your local school district to become familiar with the resources available
for k-12 public educa�on in your area. In your response, please include the district’s name, total student
enrollment, general fund budget, and special educa�on budget.
Submission in MS word or RTF format only. Double spaced.
