Abstract
In January 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court presided over Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District concerning the level of educational benefit in an IEP for a FAPE as mandated by the IDEA. In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to address the following question: What is the level of educational benefit that school districts must confer on children with disabilities to provide them with a free appropriate public education guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? In March 2017, the Supreme Court answered this question in a unanimous ruling in favor of Endrew by stating, “To meet its substantive obligation under the IDEA, a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” This current mixed-methods case study investigated special education teachers’ perceptions of educational benefit in an IEP for a FAPE in light of the Endrew decision. Data was collected through an online Qualtrics survey completed by 18 special education teachers and one-on-one interviews with 10 of these special education teachers. According to the survey data, based on the mean averages using a Likert-scale (1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = satisfactory, 4 = good, 5 = excellent), participants indicated that they are more knowledgeable about the term Educational Benefit (m = 3.67) in general than the term Progress Appropriate in Light of the Child’s Circumstances in particular (m = 2.94). The interview data revealed that special education teachers are unfamiliar with how the Endrew decision has created a new standard of educational benefit in an IEP for a FAPE. Furthermore, interview participants identified five specific components in the IEP to confer educational benefit in a FAPE regardless of the Endrew decision: assessments, data, goals, services and supports. Implications for professional development on educational benefit in an IEP for a FAPE as a result of the Endrew decision is discussed and further research on special education teachers’ perceptions of educational benefit in light of the Endrew ruling is recommended.