03/30/2021
By Robin Hall

The College of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Francisco Vicente on “Educating Students with Emotional Impairment: A Qualitative Investigation of the Facilitators and Barriers to Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).”

Date: Wednesday April 7, 2021
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should email John_McKenna@uml.edu at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access the meeting.

Dissertation Chair: John McKenna, Ph.D. Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dissertation Committee:

  • Stacy Szczesiul, Ed.D., Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Donna Pobuk Ed.D., Scholar in Practice

Abstract:

A 2017 landmark case with the United States Supreme Court, Endrew vs. Douglas, would fundamentally change the provisions for a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities. Under Endrew vs. Douglas, special education services must confer academic and functional benefit to students with disabilities. Emotional Impairment (EI) is one of thirteen categories of disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Forty percent of students identified with EI are currently graduating high school. EI students are three times more likely to be arrested before graduation, and are two times more likely than other students with disabilities to live in a correctional facility, drug treatment center, or on the street after leaving school. Students with EI educated in dedicated settings are scoring well below the twenty-fifth percentile in reading, math and written expression. Special education teams are challenged to consider FAPE mandates for students with EI and develop educational programs that confer benefit. The Buchanan school district is one of the largest urban school districts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where fifty-seven percent of students identified with EI are educated outside of the general education classroom. This qualitative investigation considers current educational practices for Buchanan Elementary School students with EI educated in the dedicated setting of the Adjustment Program, a substantially separate special education classroom for students with disabilities in need of increased social emotional and behavioral support. Facilitators and barriers to achieving FAPE mandates for students with EI are examined in light of their unique learning circumstances.

Keywords: Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Emotional Impairment (EI), Individualized Education Program (IEP)