"He's making progress." It's the sentence parents hear most at IEP meetings — and for decades, schools could defend almost any IEP with it, because some courts required only a bit more than nothing ("merely more than de minimis"). That era ended in 2017, when a unanimous United States Supreme Court decided Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District.
The Court held that an IEP must be "reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances." Chief Justice Roberts, writing for all eight justices, rejected the barely-more-than-nothing standard: a student offered an educational program providing merely more than de minimis progress "can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all."
Three practical consequences. First, "appropriate" is measured against YOUR child — their circumstances, their potential — not against the lowest bar the district can clear. Second, recycled goals are a red flag: if this year's goals look like last year's goals, the IEP is not calculated for progress; it's calculated for paperwork. Third, ambition is legally relevant — the Court wrote that every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives.
You don't have to argue case law. At the meeting, ask: "Can you show me how this goal is calculated for progress appropriate to his circumstances?" and "This goal appears unchanged from last year — what data supports repeating it?" Put both questions in writing afterward. Schools know Endrew F.; invoking its language signals you do too.
It set a nationwide floor: an IEP must be reasonably calculated to enable progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances — rejecting the old "merely more than de minimis" standard some courts used.
No — it was unanimous (8-0, decided March 22, 2017).
Repeating goals without new data is strong evidence the IEP is not calculated for meaningful progress. Ask in writing for the data behind any repeated goal.
Ask Know Your Rights any IEP question in plain language, free. And before the school year starts, run the free Fall IEP Audit — it grades last spring's IEP so you know exactly what to push on.
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