Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf
Page Number: 11.0

Cite as:  580 U. S. ____ (2017) 

7 

Opinion of the Court 

Id., at 1336.  He was afflicted by severe fears of common-
place  things  like  flies,  spills,  and  public  restrooms.    As 
Endrew’s  parents  saw  it,  his  academic  and  functional
progress  had  essentially  stalled:  Endrew’s  IEPs  largely 
carried over the same basic goals and objectives from one
year  to  the  next,  indicating  that  he  was  failing  to  make 
meaningful  progress  toward  his  aims.  His  parents  be-
lieved that only a thorough overhaul of the school district’s
approach  to  Endrew’s  behavioral  problems  could  reverse
the trend.  But in April 2010, the school district presented 
Endrew’s  parents  with  a  proposed  fifth  grade  IEP  that
was, in their view, pretty much the same as his past ones. 
So  his  parents  removed  Endrew  from  public  school  and 
enrolled  him  at  Firefly  Autism  House,  a  private  school 
that specializes in educating children with autism.

Endrew  did  much  better  at  Firefly.    The  school  devel-
oped  a  “behavioral  intervention  plan”  that  identified  En-
drew’s  most  problematic  behaviors  and  set  out  particular
strategies  for  addressing  them.  See  Supp.  App.  198a– 
201a.  Firefly also added heft to Endrew’s academic goals.
Within months, Endrew’s behavior improved significantly, 
permitting  him  to  make  a  degree  of  academic  progress
that had eluded him in public school.

In November 2010, some six months after Endrew started 
classes at Firefly, his parents again met with representa-
tives  of  the  Douglas  County  School  District.    The  district 
presented  a  new  IEP.  Endrew’s  parents  considered  the
IEP no more adequate than the one proposed in April, and 
rejected  it.  They  were  particularly  concerned  that  the 
stated  plan  for  addressing  Endrew’s  behavior  did  not 
differ meaningfully from the plan in his fourth grade IEP, 
despite  the  fact  that  his  experience  at  Firefly  suggested 
that he would benefit from a different approach. 

In  February  2012,  Endrew’s  parents  filed  a  complaint 
with the Colorado Department of Education seeking reim-
bursement  for  Endrew’s  tuition  at  Firefly.    To  qualify  for