Litigating a free appropriate public education: The Lovaas hearings and cases

Between 1993 and 1998 there were 45 published due process hearings and cour t cases in which parents of children with autism challenged the appropriate ness of a school district's educational program for their child. These hear ings and cases involved parental requests for school districts to provide, fund, or reimburse them for the Lovaas treatment program for their young ch ildren. The purpose of this article is to examine how these hearings and ca ses affect the definition of "appropriate" special education programs. Firs t, we review previous legislative and litigative definitions of a free appr opriate public education (FAPE). Next, we analyze the Lovaas treatment hear ings and cases to identify factors associated with winning and losing decis ions. Finally, we discuss the implications of these decisions to provide gu idance to schools in adhering to the procedural and substantive requirement s of a FAPE.