4.11 ISRD Training “Serving Students with Disabilities in the Regular Classroom: LRE/Inclusion” w Julie Weatherly, Esq.

Making determinations about the placement where a child with a disability can receive free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) can be particularly challenging, whether a school district is proposing a more restrictive or less restrictive environment than that desired by the student’s parents. Regardless of the restrictiveness of a placement that is proposed, educators need to be familiar with ways to make defensible recommendations when faced with this important placement question. This session will provide an overview of legal requirements applicable to making appropriate LRE decisions generally, as well as an overview of the LRE legal standards enunciated by the courts over the years. Emerging trends in recent case law will also be highlighted, and practical guidance will be shared to further assist educators in determining what is the LRE where a particular child with a disability can receive FAPE—in other words and as enunciated by the U.S. Supreme Court—the LRE where the child can “make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”