Respond as if having a back and forth conversation:

FAPE is a legal right for students with disabilities that provides access to free and appropriate education. "The acronym "FAPE" is used to mean a free appropriate public education. The federal law that gives these rights is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal law is also known as the IDEA" (Summary, 2018). This is free and appropriate education for children with disabilities whose age range is between 3 and 21. The misconception about IDEA or FAPE is that students its designed to provide students with disabilities more than other students, in fact it is, "...about providing an appropriate education, at the same level or "equal to" that which students without disabilities receive" (Cleaver, 2023).

Parents are given procedural safeguards set in place to protect their students who have disabilities to ensure their access to free and appropriate public education. However, they do have limitations in place such as the inability to request services or placements that go beyond what has been mapped out in the IEP. It is also mandatory for parents to provide consent for their children to be assessed or admitted into any special education resources. This goes hand in hand with the limitation of the school district's ability to provide special education services or complete an IEP without a parent's approval and written consent reguarless of the district's stance or opinion. The contention that might occur during an IEP development process would be the parents and the school not agreeing with placement or programs offered for the student.

FAPE includes the outline of the IEP for each individual student, such as but not limited to, "...Specially designed instruction...Accommodation and modifications...Related services like counseling, speech and language therapy...Supplemental aids and services, like interpreters for students...FAPE also ensures that the district provides each child with a plan that complies with the legal (IDEA) requirements. The plan must use evaluation data to address the child's needs. And the plan should be managed so that the child can make progress in theirleast restrictive environment" (Cleaver, 2023). FAPE is everything needed for the student to learn in the most acceptable form available and receive all the assistance provided by the school to learn and feel supported.

I spoke to one of my teacher friends about their experience with FAPE, she said that through her 10 plus years of teaching she has had several students with IEP's, over the past 4 years that number has grown exponentially. She said parents are usually on board with the recommendations of having their students receive services provided by the school, but most push for inclusive settings, even when it's not the best for the students. She reminded me of Sophia (name changed for assignment) who was in our class last year, she had an IEP and was assessed for academic ability and delays, it was found that she had level 2 autism, and it was the schools recommended to place her into a smaller sized classroom and the parents did not agree. The option of assigning her a paraeducator to sit with her in her full inclusion class was recommended as a backup but the parents did not agree with that option either. So, the 2 parties agreed to full inclusion with 20-minute sessions daily with a resource teacher on site. Near the year's end, her parents realized their choice to keep Sophia in her 1st grade classroom with little to no accommodation for her needs hindered her ability to learn as she was performing below average in all fields of study. They opted to move her to a private Autism centered school in town and with their update, she is preforming so much better now.

I know from personal experience working with students and families, a lot of urban families or minorities don't want to hear or explore possibilities of learning disabilities or struggles because they don't want to label or classify their child. However, IEP's and FAPE is here to help students get the best chance at learning which fits their needs and learning abilities. We need to help students excel in the way they learn so that they know they are not their disability.