School discipline rights for kids with IEPs and 504 plans

It can feel stressful and overwhelming when your child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan gets in trouble at school. Like all students, kids with disabilities are expected to follow school rules. But federal law adds extra protections before a public school can suspend, expel, or otherwise remove them from class.

Understanding your child’s school discipline rights can help you feel more confident and prepared. This guide below breaks down the basics, so you’re ready to advocate for your child if the need comes up.

Yes, students with IEPs or 504 plans can still be suspended. Having an IEP or a 504 plan doesn’t prevent a student from being disciplined. Students with disabilities may still face common forms of discipline, including detention, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, or expulsion.

Nationally, this happens often. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, 9 percent of students with disabilitiesopens in a new tab were suspended from school in a single year. That’s more than double the 4 percent rate for students without disabilities. A study in the Journal of Attention Disordersopens in a new tab found that kids with ADHD have significantly higher odds of school discipline, including suspension and expulsion, compared with kids without ADHD.

That’s exactly why it matters to know your child’s rights. First, all students have basic rights when facing discipline:opens in a new tab

• The right to know the rules ahead of time

• The right to challenge an accusation and explain their side

• The right to at-home instruction while suspended, in some states

Students with disabilities have additional protections layered on top of these basics. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to do a few specific things when a child with disabilities faces discipline, like a suspension:

• Schools must determine whether the behavior was caused by the child’s disability or by the school not following an IEP or 504 plan. This step is called a “manifestation determination.”

• Schools must keep providing special education services, even during discipline.

When a child has been removed from school for more than a total of 10 school days, it’s called a “change of placement.” This term may also apply if the school has a pattern of removing a child from their classroom, even if it’s for less than 10 days at a time. You might sometimes hear people refer to this as “the 10-day rule” in special education.

If your child has been suspended or removed from class, you may feel scared, lost, and even angry. That’s normal — and it’s exactly when knowing your rights matters most. Certain protections kick in when a child with disabilities is suspended for 10 days or more.

• Being sent home early

• Being excluded from a field trip

• Being placed in an alternative setting

• Being kept out of the regular classroom in any other way

Families should track these removals, because both formal and informal removals can count toward the 10-day rule.

Once a student with an IEP or a 504 plan has been removed from school for more than 10 school days in a school year,opens in a new tab it’s considered a change of placement. The same is true when there’s a clear pattern of shorter removals that add up to a similar total. Days don’t have to be consecutive to count. A string of one- and two-day suspensions across the year can trigger the same protections as one long suspension.

Once a change of placement happens, the school must notify the parent in writing and explain their legal rights, known as procedural safeguards. These rights include:

• The right to review school records

• The right to request an independent evaluation

• The right to request a hearing

A change of placement doesn’t mean special education services stop. Even if a student is removed from their regular classroom, the school must still provide the servicesopens in a new tab described in an IEP or a 504 plan. And they must be provided no matter where the student ends up, whether that’s an alternative classroom setting or at home. The school also has to hold a formal review (a manifestation determination) to look at why the behavior happened in the first place. 

A manifestation determination is a required meeting where the IEP team decides whether a student’s behavior was connected to their disability.

Miriam Nunberg, Esq., an attorney, advocate, and education consultant in New York City, explains: “When a child is behaving in such a way that it’s getting them removed from the school environment, whether through a formal suspension or informal removals ... the school has an obligation to make a determination as to whether or not the behavior is in fact related to the disability.”

Nunberg outlines the two major questions the team has to answer: 

• Whether a child’s behavior connects to the disability And, if so…

• Whether the services and supports already in place, such as an IEP or 504 plan, were being followed

To make that determination, the team typically reviews:

• The student’s most recent special education evaluation

• Whether the behavior lines up with what’s known about the disability

• Classroom observations and school records

• Whether the IEP or 504 plan was being followed as written

Sometimes, the behavior is more obviously related to a child’s disability. For example, Nunberg says a child with Tourette syndrome who is swearing is clear. 

Other times, there’s a less obvious connection. Nunberg points to a student with dyslexia. The student might throw a chair before or after a reading assignment. On the surface, that can look like defiance. But if you dig deeper, you may find that the student is reacting to frustration, judgment, or anxiety about reading — meaning the behavior is actually connected to their disability.

As a parent or guardian, you’re a valuable part of the manifestation determination process. You can provide context for your child’s behavior because you know your child best. You can help the team see when seemingly unrelated behavior may actually be related to a disability.

If the team decides the behavior was a manifestation of the disability, the student usually returns to school. The school must also:opens in a new tab 

• Complete (or update) a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to understand what’s driving the behavior

• Put in place or revise a behavior intervention plan to address the behavior going forward

If the team finds that the behavior happened because the school failed to implement the IEP or 504 plan as written:opens in a new tab 

• The student usually returns to school.

• The school will complete or update an FBA.

• The school must recommit to following the IEP or 504 plan.

• The IEP or 504 plan team will meet again (with a parent present) to review supports.

If the team determines the behavior wasn’t connected to the disability, the school can discipline the student the same way it would any other student, including suspension. 

Suspensions can be especially harmful for students with disabilitiesopens in a new tab since many of the supports they get happen in school. Even when the suspension is not related to disability, the school must continue providing special education servicesopens in a new tab for suspensions of 10 days or more. 

Understood Expert Robert Tudisco, Esq., explains the manifestation determination process in this video. 

Schools can remove a student with disabilities to what is called an “interim alternative educational setting” for up to 45 school days, without going through the usual protections first,opens in a new tab if the student:

• Brings or uses a weapon at school or a school function

• Brings, uses, or sells illegal drugs at school or a school function

• Causes (or risks causing) serious bodily injury while at school or a school function

These situations are sometimes called “special education discipline exceptions.” That’s because they let a school remove a student even if the behavior is later found to be connected to their disability.

During a 45-day removal, the school must continue providing special education services. The manifestation determination process will still happen — it just doesn’t have to happen before the removal starts.

If your child is facing serious disciplinary action, you’ll likely be called in for a meeting with the principal or the school staff member assigned to discipline. At that meeting, ask what rule your child is accused of breaking and what evidence supports the accusation.

If you disagree with the school’s decision — whether that’s the discipline itself, the manifestation determination, or how the IEP or 504 plan has been implemented — you have options:

• Appeal the suspension. Start by contacting the superintendent or the school board. Follow your district’s rules for appealing a suspension. 

• Challenge the manifestation determination. If you disagree with the outcome, you can file a complaint to request a due process hearing.opens in a new tab If time is critical, ask for an expedited hearing. Consider bringing in an outside expert to the hearing, like an independent evaluator.

• Request a new IEP or 504 plan meeting. Nunberg explains that this is your right as a parent whenever you have new information that the team needs to consider.

• Get outside help, if that’s an option for you. Many families bring in a lawyer or a parent advocate, especially during the hearing stage. A special education advocate can help with communication, meeting prep, and understanding your rights. An attorney can help with legal disputes. 

Of course, all of this is overwhelming. That’s when outside help — whether from a lawyer or an advocate — can make things easier.

To learn more about whether you need an advocate or a lawyer, listen to this podcast episode from Understood. Our guide to finding legal help is another good starting point.