FAPE

FAPE, which stands for free, appropriate, public education, was part of section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This guarunteed a free quality education to all students including those with disabilities. According to the law the term appropriate does not have an exact definition, it is simply something that must be defined by teachers, special educators, school officials and parents.
 * FAPE**

Schools did not hold the responsibilities of making sure students that have special needs would get educated. In some cases even parents were forced to pay a tuition so that their child with a disability could get the services that he or she needed. Prior to this schools would simply claim that the programs needed were not available and that the students could not be educated.
 * What did we believe before this?**

Schools hold the responsibility to give students of all levels and talents the opportunity that they need to succeed in school. If a school does not have the necessary resources or programs for a certain child than it is the schools repsonsibility to get the resources and programs that the students need to succeed in school despite their disability. The education and resources that each students needs should be paid for by the government and is guarunteed to be appropiate education. (Effective in public school only, not in private schools)
 * What do we believe now?**

Some students are forced to travel a long distance to get the necessary resources and programs that they need to succeed. Some are even forced to go to schools that are too far away to travel to every day and end up being forced to stay at these schools and not see thier family on a daily basis. The programs needed by all students are still not in place in every public school but they are in some schools and if a students needs a program in a public school not in the students city or district than they can still recieve the education they need for free at the other schools.
 * How do we act that shows any belief in the old way?**

http://www.fapeonline.org/

http://www.nsba.org/site/images/020502.gif

"Special Education for All Teachers" Ron Colarusso & Colleen O'Rourke, Chapter 2 (p. 32-42)