The FAPE standard after Endrew F.

In 2017 a unanimous Supreme Court held that to meet its substantive obligation under IDEA, "a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances." That displaced the Tenth Circuit's rule that an IEP sufficed if it conferred benefit "merely more than de minimis" — a test the Court called markedly less demanding. Where grade-level advancement is not a reasonable prospect, the program must still be "appropriately ambitious in light of his circumstances," because "every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives." The Court was explicit that this describes a general standard, not a formula.^[1]

When a district is liable for peer harassment

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education permits Title IX damages against the funding recipient — the district, not the individual teacher — only where it was "deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment, of which the recipient has actual knowledge," the harassment was "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim's access to an educational opportunity or benefit," and the district exercised "substantial control over both the harasser and the context." Davis cuts both ways: the Court cautioned that "courts should refrain from second guessing the disciplinary decisions made by school administrators," and that a single incident will rarely clear that bar.^{[2, 3, 41]}

When a district is liable for a staff member's misconduct

Staff-on-student cases run on a different test. Under Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, a district is liable in damages only where "an official who at a minimum has authority to address the alleged discrimination and to institute corrective measures on the recipient's behalf has actual knowledge of discrimination and fails adequately to respond," and that failure amounts to "deliberate indifference to discrimination." The Court expressly rejected respondeat superior and constructive notice. The litigated question is therefore seldom whether the conduct occurred — it is who knew, when, with what authority, and what they did in the hours and days after.^[4]

Section 504 and ADA Title II after A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools

On June 12, 2025 a unanimous Court held that "schoolchildren bringing ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims related to their education are not required to make a heightened showing of 'bad faith or gross misjudgment' but instead are subject to the same standards that apply in other disability discrimination contexts," retiring the Eighth Circuit's 1982 Monahan rule as irreconcilable with 20 U.S.C. §1415(l). Read it precisely. The Court removed a school-specific barrier; it expressly declined to decide what the general intent standard should be, calling the district's alternative argument "outside the question presented." Most circuits still require intentional discrimination for damages, commonly satisfied by deliberate indifference.^{[5, 6, 7, 8, 15]}

Restraint and seclusion: guidance, not prohibition

No general federal statute bars physical restraint or seclusion in public schools. Federal guidance sets fifteen principles — restraint or seclusion "should never be used except in situations where a child's behavior poses imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others," never as punishment, coercion, or convenience, and never in a manner restricting a child's breathing. The enforceable rules come from state law and district policy, and vary widely. OCR has advised that continued use may itself deny FAPE under Section 504. In 2021–22, roughly 105,700 students were restrained or secluded; students served under IDEA were 14 percent of enrollment but 76 percent of those physically restrained.^{[20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25]}

Child find, evaluation, and the IEP process

IDEA's child find duty requires that all children with disabilities residing in the State "are identified, located, and evaluated" — expressly including children "suspected of being a child with a disability … even though they are advancing from grade to grade," homeless children, wards of the State, and "highly mobile children, including migrant children." Either a parent or the agency may request an initial evaluation, which "must be conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent" unless the State sets its own timeframe. The IEP team must review the program at least annually, and reevaluate at least every three years. Passing grades do not discharge the duty.^{[9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 40]}

Youth suicide: prevention, intervention, and postvention

In CDC's 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 39.7 percent of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 20.4 percent seriously considered attempting suicide, and 9.5 percent attempted. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for both ages 10–14 and 15–24 in 2023. High levels of school connectedness were associated with lower prevalence of every mental health and suicide risk indicator measured. Schools have a defined role across three phases, and the recognized reference documents name them: the Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention (AFSP, ASCA, NASP, The Trevor Project), and "After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools" (AFSP and SPRC) for postvention.^{[32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39]}

Title IX in K-12 is, right now, a moving target

This one must be dated, not assumed. The 2024 Title IX Rule took effect August 1, 2024 and was vacated nationwide by the Eastern District of Kentucky on January 9, 2025; before that, courts elsewhere had already barred its enforcement across 26 states. On February 4, 2025 OCR issued a Dear Colleague Letter stating it "will enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, rather than the 2024 Title IX Rule," and directing that investigations opened under the 2024 Rule "be immediately reevaluated." The Department's guidance states the 2024 regulations "are not effective in any jurisdiction."^{[28, 29, 30, 31]}

What the law and the national standards actually require