September 2010 This information in Spanish | Esta información en español Where will a student with a disability receive his or her special education and related services? IDEA requires placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for each child, a setting that is based on the child's IEP. Use the options and paths below to find out more about: who decides placement; how they decide it; what LRE is and why it's a foundation … [Read more...]
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PDFPlacement and School Discipline
September 2010 This article takes a not-so-brief look at how a student placement can be affected by disciplinary actions at school. Table of Contents Background Limitations of this discussion School codes of conduct Overview of IDEA's discipline procedures Authority of school personnel What's a change of placement? Case by case determinations Parent notification Manifestation determination Authority of … [Read more...]
Discipline, in Detail
The first time that specific discipline procedures were included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was in the amendments made to the law in 1997. Those discipline procedures addressed how public agencies could respond to behavioral infractions of children with disabilities. They were also rather complicated. You'll be pleased to hear that those procedures have been revised in the 2004 Amendments to IDEA and that disciplinary … [Read more...]
School Authority in Special Circumstances
September 2010 Links updated, May 2013 In addition to the general authority of school personnel to remove a student with disabilities from his or her current placement in disciplinary situations, school personnel also have the authority to remove a student with disabilities for what's known as “special circumstances.” These circumstances apply to a child with a disability: who carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on school … [Read more...]
Manifestation Determination
September 2010 At specific times, and for certain violations of the student code of conduct, IDEA's discipline procedures require school systems to conduct what is known as a "manifestation determination review." The purpose of this review is to determine whether or not the child’s behavior that led to the disciplinary infraction is linked to his or her disability. Manifestation determinations were first introduced into IDEA with the 1997 … [Read more...]
Are Services Provided During Disciplinary Removals?
September 2010 After a child with a disability has been removed from his or her current placement for 10 school days in the same school year, the school system must provide services to the student during any subsequent days of removal, to the extent required under §300.530(d). And what does §300.530(d) require? That is the subject of this article. ___________________________________ Which services, under what circumstances, and who … [Read more...]
Appeals and Expedited Due Process
September 2010 Both the LEA and the parent of the child with a disability have the right to file a due process complaint, which is the first step in requesting a due process hearing to appeal decisions taken during disciplinary procedures, although the reasons these parties may do so differ. As §300.532(a) makes clear: Parents may appeal decisions regarding placement of their children (under §§300.530 and 300.531); Parents may appeal decisions … [Read more...]
Child’s Placement During the Appeal Process
September 2010 This article addresses a common concern—the child’s placement during the appeal process. Where will the child be placed until a decision on the appeal is issued—the original placement from which the child was removed during the disciplinary action, the interim alternative educational setting (IAES) to which he or she has been removed, or another setting that the parents and the school system agree to? General Answer: The … [Read more...]
What is Basis of Knowledge?
September 2010 Can IDEA’s discipline protections be applied to, or claimed by, children not previously determined to be eligible for special education and related services under IDEA? Perhaps an example would clarify what this question is really asking. Suppose this situation: A student who has not yet been found to be a "child with a disability" under IDEA has violated a code of student conduct. The school system takes disciplinary action … [Read more...]
Reporting Crimes
September 2010 Do IDEA's discipline procedures allow school systems to report crimes that are committed by children with disabilities? Yes, they do, and that's the focus of this article, which looks at the section of IDEA's disciplinary procedures called "referral to and action by law enforcement and judicial authorities," found at §300.535 and reproduced at the bottom of the page, for your convenience. Discussion IDEA makes clear that … [Read more...]
