More than 40 years after the implementation of Public Law 94-142, the Education for all Handicapped Children Act, federal legislation ensuring that students with disabilities are provided a free and appropriate public education, the Supreme Court is being asked to specify exactly what services must be provided to make a student’s educational experience appropriate. The law is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

Is the goal of IDEA to provide the bare minimum for engagement, or should every effort be made to equalize the education received by students with disabilities and their able-bodied peers? A follow-up question must be considered in conjunction: What is a reasonable amount of money for school districts to spend in the achievement of this goal?

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Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher, who represented the family, made an apt point: “The school district here is saying, so long as we give barely more than de minimus benefit, just we teach you a little bit of something, that is enough. We think that’s a recipe for second-class citizenship.” On the other hand, the representative from the school board, Francisco Negron, appeared to worry more about the cost burden to the school district. “Congress promised basically 40 percent funding [for IDEA-mandated services] years ago, and it’s only historically been funded at 15 percent.”