Suspension of a Child with an IEP
My child’s been suspended and has an IEP, what are my rights?
Schools can discipline children with disabilities for breaking school rules just like they would any other child. This includes standard actions like detention and short-term suspensions, however there are specific protections and processes that must be followed.
For children with disabilities who are suspended for 10 days or less in a school year —
A child with a disability may be suspended, without services, for no more than 10 days (cumulative) in a school year for behaviors that are not a manifestation of the child’s disabilities. If the behavior is a manifestation, the behavior would be addressed through a review of the IEP and/or placement, instead of by suspending (removing) the child. If the school district provides services to children without disabilities who are suspended, they must also provide them to children with disabilities.
After a child with a disability has been suspended for 10 cumulative days in a school year —
If a child is suspended again after they have already been suspended for a total of 10 days in a school year, the child must be provided with services for any additional days of removal. Those services must be sufficient to enable the child to continue to participate and progress in the general education curriculum and to progress toward meeting the annual goals in his/ her IEP. They must consist of a minimum of 10 hours of instruction plus any related services in the child’s IEP.
If appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment must also be conducted (unless one was already done), and the results used to develop positive behavioral interventions and supports in the child’s IEP.
Suspensions for more than 10 days at one time, or a pattern of suspensions (for similar behaviors, numbers of days, etc.), totaling more than 10 days in a school year are considered to be a change in placement. In those instances, in addition to conducting a functional behavioral assessment and developing positive behavioral interventions and supports (behavioral intervention plan) the parents, a representative of the school district and other relevant members of the child’s IEP Team must meet to determine if the behavior was a manifestation of the child’s disability.
Manifestation Determination
To determine if a behavior is a manifestation of the child’s disability, the LEA representative, the parent and other relevant IEP members must review all pertinent information in the child’s file, the IEP, teacher observations and any information supplied by the parents. To be a manifestation, the behavior must be:
• Caused by or have a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s disability, or
• A direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP
Behavior IS a manifestation
If the behavior WAS a manifestation of the child’s disability, the IEP team must:
- Immediately return the child to school
- Conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavior intervention plan, if not done previously, or review and modify the existing plan
- Determine what services are necessary to enable the child to progress in the general curriculum and advance towards achieving their IEP goals
Behavior IS NOT a manifestation
If the behavior WAS NOT a manifestation of the disability:
- The child may be disciplined in the same manner and amount as children without disabilities, including suspensions and expulsions
- The IEP team must determine what services are necessary to enable the child to progress in the general curriculum and advance towards their IEP goals. These services must be sufficient to enable the child to participate and progress in the general education curriculum and to progress toward meeting their IEP goals. In addition, services must consist of a minimum of 10 hours of instruction plus any related services in the IEP.
- The IEP team may determine that services will be provided in an interim alternative educational setting