This article is the first of a four-part special series on autism, in honor and recognition of National Autism Awareness Month.
In March, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, 580 U.S. ___, 137 S.Ct 988, 197 L. Ed. 2d 335 (2017). In Endrew, the court overturned a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that a child with autism in a non-mainstreamed, special education program, under an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) was entitled only to an educational program that was calculated by the child’s school district to provide “merely more than a de minimus” benefit. In a unanimous opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court held that to meet its legal obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “a school district must offer the special needs student an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that is reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” Id. at 14-15, 16.