Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) 

NC 1500-2.17 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

Free appropriate public education or FAPE means special education and related services that:

(a) Are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; 

(b) Meet the standards of the SEA, including the requirements of IDEA; 

(c) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education; 

and 

(d) Are provided in conformity with an individualized education program (IEP) that meets the requirements of NC 1503-4 and NC 1503-5.1. 

NC 1501-1.1 Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) 

(a) General. A free appropriate public education must be available to all children residing in the State between the ages of three through 21, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school, as provided for in NC 1504-2.1(d). Any child with a disability who requires special education and related services and who has not graduated from high school is eligible to continue to receive a free appropriate public education until the end of the school year in which that child reaches the age of 22. 

(b) FAPE for children beginning at age three. (1) Each LEA must ensure that-- (i) The obligation to make FAPE available to each eligible child residing in the LEA begins no later than the child's third birthday; and (ii) An IEP or an IFSP is in effect for the child by that date, in accordance with NC 1503-4.4(b). (2) If a child's third birthday occurs during the summer, the child's IEP Team shall determine the date when services under the IEP or IFSP will begin. 

(c) Children advancing from grade to grade. (1) Each LEA must ensure that FAPE is available to any individual child with a disability who needs special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade and is advancing from grade to grade. (2) The determination that a child described in paragraph (a) of this section is eligible, must be made on an individual basis by the IEP Team. 

(d) FAPE for children incarcerated in local jail. Each LEA must ensure that FAPE is available to students with disabilities incarcerated in local jail who were eligible prior to their incarceration.