The primary method of delivering a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to special education students is through the development and implementation of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that meets the student’s unique needs. Ultimately, “the essential function of an IEP is to set out a plan for pursuing academic and functional advancement.”1  Accordingly, students with disabilities must receive special education and related services that “[a]re provided in conformity with” an IEP developed pursuant to the requirements established in special education regulations.2  On a more substantive level, “a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”3  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an IEP is reasonably calculated to provide meaningful educational benefit if a multi-factor analysis indicates: “(1) the program is individualized on the basis of the student's assessment and performance; (2) the program is administered in the least restrictive environment; (3) the services are provided in a coordinated and collaborative manner by the key ‘stakeholders’; and (4) positive academic and non-academic benefits are demonstrated.”4  An IEP that meets these four prongs should provide the academic and functional advancement that is central to FAPE.

Because not all children are capable of the same level of advancement, it can be a challenge to define appropriate progress in light of a child’s individual circumstances. In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the Supreme Court recognized that while advancement from grade to grade is appropriately ambitious for most children in regular education, this may not always be the case for students in special education.5  Students in special education are nevertheless entitled to an appropriately ambitious educational program in light of their individual circumstances that grant them the opportunity “to meet challenging objectives” rather than simply to make de minimis progress.6  Thus, an IEP is appropriate only when the services and modifications allow for meaningful progress and educational benefit that is commensurate with a student’s capabilities.

In keeping with these requirements, an IEP has numerous components that must be developed, reviewed, and revised at least once a year at an IEP meeting in order to ensure the IEP is meeting a student’s unique needs.7  These key components are discussed in the following sections.

• 1Endrew F. v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist. RE-1, 137 S. Ct. 988, 999 (2017).
• 234 C.F.R. § 300.17; La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (definition of Free Appropriate Public Education).
• 3Endrew F., 137 S. Ct. at 999.
• 4Cypress-Fairbanks Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Michael F., 118 F.3d 245, 253 (5th Cir. 1997).
• 5Endrew F., 137 S. Ct. at 1000.
• 6Id.
• 7For a blank IEP template, see La. Dep’t of Educ., Individualized Education Program Form.

The IEP must include a statement of the student’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and a statement of the student’s measurable annual academic and functional goals.1  Functional goals are those that address needs in areas outside of traditional academic subjects. For example, a student in special education might have goals, also referred to as Instructional Plans, in areas such as Communication, Behavior, Social, Self-Help, Adaptive Physical Education, and Fine Motor Skills to address needs in those areas in addition to goals in traditional academic subjects. There must also be a description of how the team will measure progress towards meeting the student’s annual goals through periodic reports such as quarterly progress reports.2

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(II); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(1)–(2).
• 220 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(III); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(3).

The IEP must also include “a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” and the “program modifications or supports for school personnel” that will allow appropriate advancement towards the student’s annual goals and progress in the general education curriculum.1  “Related Services” are “developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.”2  The long, non-exhaustive list of related services enumerated in special education regulations include transportation, speech language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation (including therapeutic recreation), early identification and assessment of disabilities in students, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes, school health services and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.3  Generally, any related service for which there is a documented needed should be included as part of a student’s IEP.4  For some related services to be added to the IEP, however, there must be a finding in a special education evaluation that the student meets specific eligibility criteria for the service established in Louisiana Bulletin 1508.5  The related services for which a student must qualify through a special education evaluation are school health services, occupational therapy, orientation and mobility services, physical therapy, school psychological, school social work, and speech/language pathology services.6

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(IV); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(4).
• 2La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (defining Related Services); 20 U.S.C. § 1401(26)(A).
• 3La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (defining Related Services); 20 U.S.C. § 1401(26)(A).
• 4La. Bulletin 1530 § 309(A).
• 5Id.
• 6La. Bulletin 1508 § 1501(B).

IEPs must include “a statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the student on state and district-wide assessments.”1  The IEP form used in Louisiana contains several pages of accommodations that the IEP team can select from for use in both classroom instruction and testing and in statewide assessments.2  The list of accommodations, which is not exhaustive, includes modifying the manner in which information is presented to the student; how the student’s response is collected; the timing and scheduling of instruction, tests, and assignments; and the instructional or testing setting for a student.3

Special education regulations also specify a number of supplementary aids and services that must be included in the IEP if determined to be necessary for the provision of FAPE. These supports can include a public or private residential placement, assistive technology devices and services for use at school and at home, nonacademic and extracurricular services needed to provide an equal opportunity for participation in those activities, and regular or special physical education services.4  IEPs can also include additional supports and services within attached Individual Health Plans, Parental Communication Plans, and Behavior Intervention or Support Plans. Thus, IEP teams have a wide array of modifications and supports available to ensure that special education students are receiving FAPE.

• 1La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(A)(6); 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(IV).
• 2See La. Dep’t of Educ., Individualized Education Program Form 5–11.
• 3See id.
• 434 C.F.R. § 300.104­–.108; La. Bulletin 1706 § 104–­108.

Starting with the first IEP to be in effect once a student in special education turns sixteen, the IEP must contain a transition plan consisting of appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills as well as the transition services, including courses of study, needed to assist the student in reaching those goals.1  Transition services are a coordinated set of activities designed to be within a results oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student with a disability to facilitate the student’s movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation.2

Transition services can include instruction, related services, and community experiences and should be based upon the student’s individual needs and account for the student’s strengths, preferences, and interests. Many districts and schools offer extensive vocational programs through which special education students may receive training and even industry certifications in popular career paths such as welding, cosmetology, mechanical, hospitality, technology, and entrepreneurship. The transition plans of students whose post-graduation aspirations include higher education might focus more on preparing the youth to meet admission requirements and assisting them with navigating the college application process. Other students may need transition plans that target the development of skills needed to live independently like using public transportation, managing finances, acquiring daily living skills, or accessing community services.  

• 120 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII); La. Bulletin 1706 § 320(B).
• 2La. Bulletin 1706 § 905 (defining Transition Services); 34 C.F.R. § 300.43(a)(1).

Students in special education may also be entitled to special education instruction and related services known as Extended School Year (“ESY”) services during the summer break.1  ESY services, however, are not meant to function as a summer school for any special education student who would benefit from additional instruction or services in the months between school years. Rather, ESY services are only available to a student in special education if the IEP team determines they are required for FAPE based on any of three specific criteria: Regression-Recoupment, Critical Point of Instruction, and Special Circumstances.2

Regression-Recoupment applies to students with significant cognitive disabilities when performance data demonstrates a pattern of problems with recouping performance on any objective or skill across any two breaks within the current IEP.3

Students can qualify for ESY under Critical Point of Instruction (“CPI”) in two ways. A student qualifies under CPI-1 if the student would be at risk of losing general education class time or of increasing special education service time because of a lack of academic or social skill development without ESY services.4  A student qualifies under CPI-2 if the student would be at risk of losing significant progress made toward acquisition, fluency, maintenance, and/or generalization of skills relevant in the pursuit of critical life areas like self-help, community access, or social and behavioral skills.5

Finally, a student can qualify for ESY services based on Special Circumstances for a number of different reasons, including the need to support older students so they can maintain a summer job, the need to maintain performance skills and prevent regression for students transitioning from Early Steps to preschool, the need to complete action steps that are part of a transition plan that have not been completed by the LEA by the end of the student’s final year in school, and the need to catch up on projected progress for students with excessive absences for health-related conditions.6  Special Circumstances also include a broad category of Extenuating Circumstances in which a student can qualify for ESY when unusual situations or circumstances create a need for ESY services, but the student does not meet other eligibility criteria.7  Extenuating Circumstances exist if there is a determination that a break in instruction will negatively impact or cause the student skill loss that will restrict the student’s ability to function as independently as possible.8

In conclusion, in order to provide FAPE to a special education student, an LEA must develop and faithfully implement an IEP that includes appropriately ambitious goals and the related services, modifications, and other supports needed to achieve those goals.

• 134 C.F.R. § 300.106; La. Bulletin 1706 § 106.
• 2La. Bulletin 1530 § 705(C).
• 3Id. § 705(C)(1).
• 4Id. § 705(C)(2)(b)(i).
• 5Id. § 705(C)(2)(b)(ii).
• 6Id. § 705(C)(3).
• 7Id. § 705(C)(3)(e).
• 8Id. § 705(C)(3)(e)(ii).