Discipline – What a School Can and Can’t Do…

The school year has begun and it is time for all good children get back into the swing of the rules of the classroom and school building.  Warnings will be given, detentions will be doled out, and for those who do not learn the lessons, perhaps a suspension will occur.  Even schools that utilize a school wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program reach a point where a particular behavior will require a specific consequence – a student is disrespectful to teachers three times and he will miss recess for one week.  It is assumed that with each greater loss of privilege – a missed recess can quickly turn into a Saturday detention or a three-day suspension – the student will learn that the infraction was not worth the loss of privilege.  While school wide programs designed to define, teach and support appropriate student behavior may work well for some students, there are instances when a child with a disability will require a different standard.  The different standard is outlined in the student’s IEP and, usually, in a Behavior Intervention Plan.

For students with disabilities who have behaviors that impede their learning or the learning of others, the IEP team gets to determine how to define, teach and support appropriate behavior.  The team could determine that the school wide system provides enough support for the student; the team could decide that more interventions are necessary for the student to benefit from his education.  The point is: it’s the IEP team’s decision.

When discussing with the team the need for behavior supports, keep in mind your child’s unique needs as well as the school’s policies on behavior.  The policies regarding behavior can usually be found in the student handbook.  An example would be “All children will travel in the halls in an orderly and quiet fashion.”  If you know that your child’s disability prevents him or her from traveling in the hall in an orderly and quiet fashion when other students are present, then raise this concern with the team and discuss how the IEP should address this.

Making sure that the IEP team has considered how your child’s disability will impact her ability to comply with the requirements of the school’s conduct code will ensure that your child has the appropriate supports in place to participate in his or her education. 

The rules regarding discipline are based on whether a school can exclude a child from programming, and if so, for how long.  A school is not allowed to interrupt, or deny, a child access to programming for more than 10 days.  When a child has been removed from programming for more than 10 days, it is considered a change of placement and procedural safeguards to ensure the child continues to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education kick in.

If a school wants suspend a child for more than 10 days, including expelling a child from school, then the school district is required to conduct a Manifestation Determination within 10 school days of the decision. The IEP team must review all relevant information in the student’s file, including the child’s IEP, any teacher observations, and any relevant information provided by the parents to determine:

1.    If the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the child’s disability; or

2.    If the conduct in question was the direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP.

The conduct must be determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability if the team determines that a condition in either of the two paragraphs above was met. 

If determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability, then:

1.    The school must conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (unless one has already been conducted) and develop a Behavior Intervention Plan; or

2.    If a Behavior Intervention Plan has already been developed, review the plan and modify as necessary to include the conduct.

3.    The school must return the child to school unless the parents and school agree that a change in placement is appropriate.

If the conduct is determined not to be a manifestation of the child’s disability then the child can be removed from school, but the child must continue to receive services to allow the child to access the general curriculum and progress towards IEP goals and objectives.  The services can take place in the form of tutoring or in the form of a change of placement to another educational setting, sometimes referred to as an Interim Alternative Educational Setting.  The services must be for a minimum of 10 hours per week and the IEP team determines the location of the services.

There are special circumstances that allow a child to be removed from school regardless of whether the conduct is a manifestation of the child’s disability.  In special circumstances, the child can be placed in an IAES for up to 45 school days.  The special circumstances are:

1.    Carries to or possesses a weapon at school or at a school sponsored function.  Weapon is defined as a dangerous weapon, specifically a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2 1⁄2 inches in length.

2.    Knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance while at school, on school premises, or at a school sponsored function.

3.    Has inflicted serious bodily injury on another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school sponsored function.  Serious bodily injury is defined as bodily injury, which involves substantial risk of death; extreme physical pain; protracted and obvious disfigurement; or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.

The IAES is determined by the IEP team and must be appropriate to allow the child to continue to have access to the general curriculum and to progress on the goals in the child’s IEP.  Don’t let the school administrators tell you that they get to make the decisions regarding discipline – they don’t.  Administrators must consult with the IEP team to determine if the proposed discipline violates the IEP and Behavior Intervention Plan.  If a child is suspended for more than 10 days or expelled, the administrator must leave the decision of where the child will receive services to the IEP team. 

These are the rules for discipline and there are no deviations from these rules.  A school cannot pull a parent into an unscheduled, spur of the moment, closed door meeting with only administration present to inform the parent that the child can no longer attend the public school.  The school cannot tell the parent that the school will look for another placement, but in the meantime, the child can be homeschooled.  A school is responsible for the safety of all children, but the safety of all children cannot be at the expense of a child with disabilities’ federally mandated right to an appropriate education, including the appropriate supports and services that will allow a child with a disability to receive an education in the least restrictive environment.