The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment, meaning the environment that is as close as possible to that of a regular education classroom. However, the nation’s various circuit courts have used different standards to determine whether a particular placement meets this requirement. Julie Underwood summarizes a recent Sixth Circuit case, L.H. v. Hamilton County Department of Education, in which the court ruled that it was inappropriate for a district to remove a child with Down syndrome from a regular classroom, where he was making academic progress but not achieving the grade-level standard.
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References
1.
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 580 U.S. (2017).
2.
HeumannJ.E.HehirT. (1994, November). Questions and answers on the least restrictive environment requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (OSEP 95-9). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
3.
L.H. v. Hamilton Cnty. Dep’t of Educ., Nos. 17-5989/18-5086 (6th Cir.Aug.20, 2018).
4.
Roncker v. Walter, 700 F.2d 1058, 1063 (6th Cir.1983).
5.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest of Education Statistics, 2015 (NCES 2016-014). Washington, DC: Author.
