| Owner: |
Leah Bueso
|
| Owner Email: |
lbues@uis.edu
|
| Paper Title: |
How District Representatives Make Sense of the Substantive Free Appropriate Public Education Standard
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| Session Title: |
Educational Policies and Law: Free Appropriate Public Education, Equity, and Safety
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| Paper Type: |
Session Paper
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| Presentation Date: |
4/19/2020
|
| Presentation Location: |
Online
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| Descriptors: |
Law/Legal, Qualitative Research, Special Education
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| Methodology: |
Qualitative
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| Author(s): |
Leah Bueso, University of California - Riverside
|
| Unit: |
SIG-Special and Inclusive Education Research
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| Abstract: |
In 2017, the Supreme Court in Endrew F. reexamined its interpretation of the substantive FAPE standard for the first time in 35 years. In this decision, the Court reaffirmed its deference to the expertise of school authorities on questions of educational policy. However, little is known about how school authorities understand the substantive FAPE standard. This study used qualitative empirical legal research methods to examine the socially constructed realities of law. Through in-depth interviews with 18 district representatives working in a large, urban school district, this study found that half of participants did not interpret the substantive FAPE standard in line with current legal standards. Moreover, all participants except one were unfamiliar with recent changes in federal special education law.
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| DOI: |
https://doi.org/10.3102/1586223
|