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21 Widener L. Rev. 117 (2015)
Least Restrictive Environment: Fulfilling the Promises of Idea

handle is hein.journals/wlsj21 and id is 125 raw text is: LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT: FULFILLING THE PROMISES OF IDEA MEGAN MCGOVERN* Andrew sits at his desk staring blankly at the assignment he was just given as his teacher instructs the class. His school district decided that he did not need any special classroom instruction, but without any individualized help, Andrew is unable to complete his assignment. Given the large size of his fourth grade class and his teacher's lack of training for teaching students with special needs, the teacher is unable to give him the individualized attention he needs while still monitoring the rest of the class. Andrew is like many children with disabilities nationwide who suffer as a result of flawed special education practices as teachers and school officials across the country struggle to meet the needs of their students. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)1 requires public schools across the United States to provide special education supports and services for all students with one of the enumerated disabilities who need such supports and services to benefit educationally.2 IDEA guarantees students with disabilities3 access to free, appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE') with accommodating supports and services.4 Although these requirements have existed since IDEA was originally enacted as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, the interpretation and implementation of the mandates remain controversial as professionals, parents, and policymakers alike struggle to understand what each provision requires and when school districts have fulfilled the Act's guarantees.6 This Comment calls for multi-level reconsiderations of what is necessary to successfully implement the LRE provision and satisfy its requirements. Part I introduces the history of special education rights in America's schools *J.D. 2015, Widener University School of Law. 1 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 5 1400(a) (2012). 2 See 20 U.S.C. § 1400(d). Even if a student has one of the enumerated disabilities, he or she will not qualify for special education unless he or she has an academic need for such services. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(3)(B). 3 See 20 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A)(i) (defining child with a disability as a child with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this chapter as 'emotional disturbance'), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities ..). 4 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(1), (a)(5). 5 Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Pub. L. No. 94-142, 89 Stat. 773 (1975) (amending Education of the Handicapped Act, Pub. L. No. 91-230, 84 Stat. 175 (1970)). 6 Kathryn E. Crossley, Inclusion: A New Addition to Remedy a History of Inadequate Conditions and Terms, 4 WASH. U. J.L. & POL'Y 239, 245-52 (2000) (explaining there is no clear judicial test to determine when a child with disabilities should be mainstreamed into a general classroom environment).

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