{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T06:43:44Z","timestamp":1787726624911,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,21]],"date-time":"2024-12-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734739200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Learn Disabil"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>In 2025, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) will have been the primary law driving the field of special education for 50\u2009years. A contentious area of disagreement has been the relationship between two primary mandates of the law: the obligation of schools to provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to eligible students with disabilities and the obligation to place these students in the least restrictive environment (LRE) appropriate to each student\u2019s individual needs. The conflict over LRE can be traced throughout the history of IDEA, in debates referenced as \u201cmainstreaming,\u201d \u201cregular education initiative,\u201d \u201cinclusion,\u201d and \u201cfull inclusion.\u201d In this case, we draw on (a) Congressional intent as shown in the writings of a co-sponsor of the law, (b) the language of the law and regulations, (c) special education rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and other U.S. Courts of Appeals addressing FAPE and LRE, and (d) policy guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. We argue that there is no basis for believing that FAPE and LRE are in conflict. Rather, the FAPE requirement of the IDEA is the primary obligation of school districts, and it sets the parameters for determining the LRE. To believe otherwise represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the law. We describe how for students eligible under the category of learning disabilities, this perceived conflict has been especially challenging. Historically, the IDEA has made a distinction between high-incidence disabilities, those that occur more frequently, and low-incidence disabilities, those that occur less frequently. At some point, these distinctions morphed into a belief that high-incidence disabilities required less-intensive interventions and were more suited to regular class placement than those students with low-incidence disabilities. This distinction is incorrect. For each student identified as eligible for special education services, the determination of LRE should be an individualized decision based on student needs and where those needs can be best met. This discussion is a critical one for students with learning disabilities and all students with disabilities who may require intensive individualized supports, regardless of prior conceptions of low- and high-disability categories.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00222194241305352","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,21]],"date-time":"2024-12-21T06:18:59Z","timestamp":1734761939000},"page":"246-256","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act: Clarifying the Relationship Between Free Appropriate Public Education and Least Restrictive Environment"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"58","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2614-7196","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mitchell Louis","family":"Yell","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M. Renee","family":"Bradley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Manassas, VA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ballard J. Zettel J. J. (1977). Public law 94-142 and Section 504: What they say about rights and protections. Exceptional Children 44(3) 177\u2013184. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/001440297704400304","DOI":"10.1177\/001440297704400304"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315517698-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","unstructured":"Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley 458 U.S. 176. (1982)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Decisions in sequence: How to make placements in the least restrictive environment","volume":"9","author":"Champaigne J. F.","year":"1993","unstructured":"Champaigne J. F. (1993). Decisions in sequence: How to make placements in the least restrictive environment. EdLaw Briefing Paper, 9 &10, 1\u201316.","journal-title":"EdLaw Briefing Paper"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","unstructured":"Congressional Research Service. (2018). Statutory interpretation: Theories tools and trends. https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R45153\/2"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_1","unstructured":"Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education 874 F.2d 1036. (5th Cir. 1989)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_8_1","unstructured":"Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 20 U.S.C. \u00a7 1401 et seq."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_1","unstructured":"Education of the Handicapped Amendments of 1974 Pub. L. No. 93-380 88 Stat. 580."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_1","unstructured":"Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 580 U.S. 386 137 S.Ct. 988. (2017)."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_1","unstructured":"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 20 U.S.C. \u00a7 1401 et seq."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_1","unstructured":"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Regulations 34 C.F.R. \u00a7 300 et seq."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Letter to Cohen (1996). 25 IDELR 516 (OSEP).","DOI":"10.1177\/030642209602500111"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Letter to Frost (1991). 18 LRP 594 (OSERS).","DOI":"10.1016\/0197-4556(91)90078-O"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_1","unstructured":"Letter to Trigg. (2007). https:\/\/sites.ed.gov\/idea\/files\/idea\/policy\/speced\/guid\/idea\/letters\/2007-4\/trigg113007lre4q2007.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_1","unstructured":"Letter to Veasey. (2001). https:\/\/sites.ed.gov\/idea\/files\/idea\/policy\/speced\/guid\/idea\/letters\/2001-4\/veazey112601place.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_1","volume-title":"Breakthrough: Federal Special Education Legislation: 1965-1981","author":"Martin E.","year":"2013","unstructured":"Martin E. (2013). Breakthrough: Federal Special Education Legislation: 1965-1981. Bardolf & Company."},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_2_18_1","first-page":"653","article-title":"An \u201cidea\u201d to consider: Adopting a uniform test to evaluate compliance with the IDEA\u2019s least restrictive environment mandate","volume":"59","author":"Prager S.","year":"2015","unstructured":"Prager S. (2015). An \u201cidea\u201d to consider: Adopting a uniform test to evaluate compliance with the IDEA\u2019s least restrictive environment mandate. 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The answer book on special education law","author":"Tatgenhorst A.","year":"2018","unstructured":"Tatgenhorst A., Norlin J. W., Gorn S. (2018). What do I do when . . . The answer book on special education law (6th ed.). LRP Publications.","edition":"6"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_1","unstructured":"U.S. Department of Education. (1999). Federal Regulations to IDEA p. 12471."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_26_1","unstructured":"U.S. Department of Education. (2006). Federal regulations to IDEA p. 46587."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0198742919865454"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_28_1","volume-title":"Developing educationally meaningful and legally sound individualized education programs (IEPs)","author":"Yell M. L.","year":"2021","unstructured":"Yell M. L., Bateman D. F., Shriner J. G. (2021). Developing educationally meaningful and legally sound individualized education programs (IEPs). 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