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Page Number: 10.0

6 

ENDREW F. v. DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DIST. RE–1 

Opinion of the Court 

further.  Instead, we expressly “confine[d] our analysis” to
the  facts  of  the  case  before  us.  Ibid.  Observing  that  the 
Act  requires  States  to  “educate  a  wide  spectrum”  of  chil-
dren with disabilities and that “the benefits obtainable by
children at one end of the spectrum will differ dramatically
from  those  obtainable  by  children  at  the  other  end,”  we
declined  “to  establish  any  one  test  for  determining  the 
adequacy  of  educational  benefits  conferred  upon  all  chil-
dren covered by the Act.”  Ibid. 

C 
Petitioner Endrew F. was diagnosed with autism at age 
two.  Autism  is  a  neurodevelopmental  disorder  generally 
marked  by  impaired  social  and  communicative  skills,
“engagement  in  repetitive  activities  and  stereotyped
movements, resistance to environmental change or change 
in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory expe-
riences.”  34 CFR §300.8(c)(1)(i) (2016); see Brief for Peti-
tioner 8.  A child with autism qualifies as a “[c]hild with a 
disability”  under  the  IDEA,  and  Colorado  (where  Endrew 
resides)  accepts  IDEA  funding.    §1401(3)(A).  Endrew  is 
therefore  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  Act,  including  a 
FAPE provided by the State. 

Endrew  attended  school  in  respondent  Douglas  County
School District from preschool through fourth grade.  Each 
year, his IEP Team drafted an IEP addressed to his educa-
tional  and  functional  needs.    By  Endrew’s  fourth  grade 
year,  however,  his  parents  had  become  dissatisfied  with
his  progress.  Although  Endrew  displayed  a  number  of
strengths—his  teachers  described  him  as  a  humorous
child  with  a  “sweet  disposition”  who  “show[ed]  concern[ ] 
for  friends”—he  still  “exhibited  multiple  behaviors  that 
inhibited  his  ability  to  access  learning  in  the  classroom.”
Supp.  App.  182a;  798  F. 3d  1329,  1336  (CA10  2015).
Endrew  would  scream  in  class,  climb  over  furniture  and 
other  students,  and  occasionally  run  away  from  school.