Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf
Page Number: 17.0

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

13 

Opinion of the Court 

§§1401(9),  (29).    In  determining  what  it  means  to  “meet
the  unique  needs”  of  a  child  with  a  disability,  the  provi-
sions  governing  the  IEP  development  process  are  a  natu-
ral  source  of  guidance:  It  is  through  the  IEP  that  “[t]he 
‘free  appropriate  public  education’  required  by  the  Act  is
tailored  to  the  unique  needs  of ”  a  particular  child.    Id., 
at 181. 

The IEP provisions reflect Rowley’s expectation that, for
most children, a FAPE will involve integration in the reg- 
ular classroom and individualized special education calcu-
lated to achieve advancement from grade to grade.  Every
IEP begins by describing a child’s present level of achieve-
ment,  including  explaining  “how  the  child’s  disability
affects the child’s involvement and progress in the general
education  curriculum.”  §1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(I)(aa). 
It  then 
sets  out  “a  statement  of  measurable  annual  goals  . . . 
designed  to  . . .  enable  the  child  to  be  involved  in  and 
make progress in the general education curriculum,” along
with  a  description  of  specialized  instruction  and  services
that the child will receive.  §§1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(II), (IV).  The 
instruction and services must likewise be provided with an 
eye toward “progress in the general education curriculum.”
§1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(IV)(bb).  Similar  IEP  requirements  have 
been  in  place  since  the  time  the  States  began  accepting 
funding under the IDEA.

The school district protests that these provisions impose
only  procedural  requirements—a  checklist  of  items  the
IEP  must  address—not  a  substantive  standard  enforce-
able in court.  Tr. of Oral Arg. 50–51.  But the procedures
are there for a reason, and their focus provides insight into 
what  it  means,  for  purposes  of  the  FAPE  definition,  to 
“meet  the  unique  needs”  of  a  child  with  a  disability. 
§§1401(9),  (29).    When  a  child  is  fully  integrated  in  the 
regular  classroom,  as  the  Act  prefers,  what  that  typically
means  is  providing  a  level  of  instruction  reasonably 
calculated  to  permit  advancement  through  the  general