School discipline protections

Learn

• 10 school days

  If your child is facing a long suspension or has a pattern of getting suspended, it can feel stressful and confusing. But the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) includes special protections that apply to school discipline for kids with IEPs. There’s an important step that needs to happen, and you get a say in what comes next.

  If your child has an IEP, some removals from school count as a change in placement. This happens when your child is removed for:

  • More than 10 school days in a row, or

  • More than 10 school days total in a school year, or

  • Fewer than 10 school days if the removals form a pattern. One example is repeated removals for similar behavior that happen close together.

  When there is a change in placement, the school must:

  • Tell you about the decision right away.

  • Hold a special review, called a manifestation determination.

• Manifestation determination

  Within 10 school days of deciding to change your child’s placement, the school must do a manifestation determination. This is the legal term for deciding whether the behavior was caused by your child’s disability or strongly connected to it.

  You, the school, and some of the other members of your child’s IEP team will review information about your child. That includes the IEP, teacher observations, and anything you share.

  If the group decides your child’s disability directly contributed to the behavior, then the school must:

  • Immediately try to figure out why the behavior happened. (This is called a functional behavior assessment.)

  • Put in place a behavior intervention plan or, if your child already has one, make any needed changes. 

  • Allow your child to return to school.

• Exceptions for serious situations

  In many cases, kids with IEPs can return to school if their disability caused or contributed to the behavior. But there are some exceptions to these school discipline protections. Schools can change a child’s placement for up to 45 school days if a behavior involved:  

  • Bringing a weapon to school

  • Causing serious bodily injury

  • Selling or having illegal drugs at school

  In these cases, the school can change a child’s placement even if the child’s disability caused the behavior. But the school must still provide instruction during that time. For example, a student might get two hours of tutoring a day in an alternative placement.