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. Emotional Impairment (EI) is one of 13 categories of disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Forty percent of EI students 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. EI students 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 Emotional Impairment are educated outside of the general education classroom. This qualitative investigation will consider current educational practices for Buchanan Elementary School students with EI educated in a substantially separate special education classroom. Facilitators and barriers to achieving FAPE mandates for students with EI will be examined in light of their unique learning circumstances. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]