ABSTRACT
Students with disabilities have not always been educated in public schools. Prior to 1975, there was no federal law that entitled students with disabilities to a public education. However, with the passage of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) in 1975, public schools were required to provide students with disabilities with a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE). The FAPE required that schools not only provide an education to students with disabilities but also do so in settings with students without disabilities “to the maximum extent possible.” This principle is known as the least restrictive environment (LRE). The defi nition of the LRE would evolve over time because the EAHCA simply required that public schools must educate all students with disabilities in their LRE.
