Appropriate - What is Appropriate in Special Education Programs?

Definition: Appropriate is a term used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as in free appropriate public education. Although the IDEA requires schools to provide an appropriate education, there is no definition of appropriate. The intention of the IDEA is that what is appropriate for children with disabilities will be determined on a case-by-case basis and not a standard definition.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, schools are required to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education to children with learning disabilities and other educational disabilities in public schools. Educators often refer to this requirement only by its acronym: FAPE.

FAPE is determined on an individual basis for each child based on his or her individual assessment and educational needs. Parents and educators work together to develop an Individual Education Program (IEP) for each child with a disability. The IEP includes Specially Designed Instructionand related services. The specific components of the IEP are the school's plan to provide FAPE for the student.

Back to Special Education and Learning Disability Terms