Students with D

isabilities: D

iscipline Do’s and D

on’ts

Ginger C

ash, Consultant for Interventions

Karen Little, M

onitoring Consultant

NC

DPI Exceptional C

hildren Division

NC

1504-2 Discipline Procedures

Policy says…

(a) Case-by-case determ

ination.S

chool personnel may consider

any unique circumstances on a case-by-case basis

when determ

ining whether a change in placem

ent is appropriate for a child w

ith a disability who violates a

code of student conduct. Circum

stances considered should include area of disability, functioning level of the child, intent of the behavior, and other relevant factors.

NC

1504-2.1 (a)

Unique

Circum

stances•

Disciplinary history

•A

bility to understand consequences

•E

xpression of remorse

•S

upports provided prior to violation

“Best determined at

the local level by school personnel w

ho know the

individual child”

OS

ER

Q &

A Docum

ent“Q

uestions and Answers O

n Discipline Procedures,” R

evised June 2009 R

etrivedfrom

: https://ww

w2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/discipline-q-a.pdf

(71 Federal Register 46714)

Do

•C

onsider each each student and incident individually-based on that student

•B

e certain to get all of the inform

ation about the student and the incident to consider in the determ

ination

•M

ake decisions because it is “the w

ay we alw

ays do it”•

Make quick decisions w

ithout all of the needed inform

ation to understand the unique circum

stances

Don’t

Rem

oval of Student with a D

isability-Part 1Policy says…

(b) General.

(1) School personnel under this section m

ayrem

ove a child w

ith a disability who violates a code of student

conduct from his or her current placem

ent to an appropriate interim

alternative educational setting, another setting, or suspension, for not m

ore than 10 consecutive school days, and for separate incidents of m

isconduct (as long as those removals

do not constitute a change of placem

ent under NC

1504-2.7)N

C 1504-2.1 (b)

What is a disciplinary rem

oval?A

nyinstance in w

hich a child with a disability is

•rem

oved from his/her educational placem

ent for disciplinary purposes, including –

in–school suspension, –

out–of–school suspension, –

expulsion–

removal by school personnel to an interim

alternative educational setting for drug or w

eapon offenses or serious bodily injury, and

–rem

oval by hearing officer for likely injury to the child or others.FILE C

143–C

hildren with D

isabilities (IDEA) Total D

isciplinary Rem

ovalsFile Specifications–

V13.0 (SY 2016-17), U

.S. Departm

ent of Education, Washington, D

C:

EDFacts.

Retrieved [010/04/18] from

http://ww

w.ed.gov/edfacts.

Rem

oval of child with disability

Disability (ID

EA)

A rem

oval occurs when the student

is removed from

the student’s IEP-

determined placem

ent, that is, the educational environm

ent(s) that the IE

P team

determined w

as the appropriate placem

ent for the student.

Disability (LEA

knowledge)

•P

arent expressed concerns in writing

that the child is in need of special education and related services

•P

arent requested an evaluation•

Personnel of the LE

A expressed specific concerns to adm

inistrators•

Clear and convincing need for

special education based on behavioral and educational perform

ance

Long, T., and Ruffini, S. (2017, M

arch). IDEA Part B

Discipline D

ata Collection Q

uestions and Answers, (R

evised M

arch 2017). IDEA D

ata Center. R

ockville, MD

: Westat.

Rem

oval of Student with a D

isabilityPolicy says…

General.

1)S

chool personnel under this section may

remove a

child with a disability w

ho violates a code of student conduct from

his or her current placement to an

appropriate interim alternative educational setting,

another setting, or suspension, for not more than 10

consecutive school days, and for separate incidents of m

isconduct (as long as those removals

do not constitute a change of placem

ent under NC

1504-2.7)N

C 1504-2.1 (b)

Change of Placem

enta)

For purposes of removals of a child w

ith a disability from

the child’s current educational placement under N

C 1504-

2.1 through NC

1504-2.6, a change of placement occurs

if—1)

The removal is for m

ore than 10 consecutive school days; or

2)The child has been subjected to a series of rem

ovals that constitute a pattern—

NC

1504-2.7

Change of Placem

ent -Pattern1)

The child has been subjected to a series of removals

that constitute a pattern—i.

Because the series of rem

ovals total more than 10

school days in a school year;ii.

Because the child’s behavior is substantially similar

to the child’s behavior in previous incidents that resulted in the series of rem

ovals, andiii.

Because of such additional factors as the length of

each removal, the total am

ount of time the child has

been removed, and the proxim

ity of the removals to

one another.

NC

1504-2.7

Disciplinary R

emoval?...Possibly!

•A

pattern of office referrals, extended time excluded from

instruction (e.g., tim

e out), or extended restrictions in privileges

•R

epeatedly sending children out of school on “administrative

leave” or a “day off” or other method of sending the child

home from

school;•

Repeatedly sending children out of school w

ith a condition for return, such as a risk assessm

ent or psychological evaluation•

Regularly requiring children to leave the school early and m

iss instructional tim

e (e.g., via shortened school days). D

ear Colleague Letter on the Inclusion of

Behavioral S

upports in Individualized E

ducation Program

s, August 1, 2016.

Do

•E

stablish a system for tracking A

LL rem

ovals•

Review

ALL rem

ovals each time to

begin determining the potential for

a disciplinary change of placement

BEFO

RE the 11

thday•

Establish a procedure for identifying

a change of placement

•E

stablish a procedure to effectively and efficiently address a change of placem

ent

•W

ait until day 11 to determine if

there might be a pattern

•W

ait until an incident has happened to determ

ine if there is a pattern that m

ight establish a change of placem

ent•

Have unclear procedures

•W

ait until an incident occurs that m

ust be addressed to figure out how

the process must w

ork

Don’t

Rem

oval of Student with a D

isability-Part 2Policy says…

(b) General.

(2) After a child w

ith a disability has been removed

from his or her current placem

ent for 10 school days in the sam

e school year, during any subsequent days of rem

oval the public agency m

ust provide services to the extent required under paragraph (d) of this section.

NC

1504-2.1 (b)

NC

1504-2 Discipline Procedures

Policy says…(d) S

ervices.(1) A child w

ith a disability who is rem

oved from the child’s

current placement pursuant to (c) or (g) of this section

must—

(i) Continue to receive educational service, as provided in

NC

1501-1.1(a), so as to enable the child to continue to participate in the general education curriculum

, although in another setting, and to progress tow

ard meeting the goals

set out in the child’s IEP; andN

C 1504-2.1 (d)

NC

1504-2 Discipline Procedures

Policy says…And…(ii) R

eceive, as appropriate, a functional behavior assessm

ent, and behavioral intervention servicesand

modifications

that are designed to address the behavior violation so that it does not recur. If a behavior intervention plan already has been developed, it m

ust be review

ed and modified, as necessary, to address the

behavior.

NC

1504-2.1 (d)

Who determ

ines the services?

Do

•P

rovide services to students who a

removed from

placement m

ore than 10 days

•C

onsider the individual needs of the student and m

ake individual decisions to support involvem

ent in the general curriculum

and progress tow

ard goals.•

Review

the IEP, request an FB

A

and develop a BIP

or review and

adjust if already in place

•W

ait long periods after removals to

begin providing services•

Make one-size-fits-all lim

ited decisions, because “that is all w

e can do/all w

e have here.” •

Delay requesting an FBA

and developing a B

IP if one is needed

•U

se cookie-cutter behavior intervention plans

Don’t

Rem

ember C

hange of Placement rules

If the removals are:

✓m

ore than 10 consecutiveschool days

Change of placem

ent✓

total more than 10 cum

ulativeschool days

in a school year then consider…•

Is the behavior substantially similar to the

child’s behavior in previous incidents that resulted in the series of rem

ovals•

The length of each removal, the total am

ount of tim

e the child has been removed, and the

proximity of the rem

ovals to one anotherNC

1504-2.7

Is there a pattern constituting a change of placem

ent?

•C

onsult with at least one of the child’s teachers

to determine the extent to w

hich services are needed as provided N

C 1501-1.1 so as to

enable the child to continue to participate in the general education curriculum

, although in another setting, and to progress tow

ard m

eeting the goals set out in the child’s IEP.•

Provide, as appropriate, an FB

A and B

IP to

address the behavior OR

if already in place, it M

US

T be reviewed and revised as necessary

Do

For Cum

ulative days/Series of short rem

ovals

DO

•N

otify the parent of the decision to make a rem

oval that constitutes a change of placem

ent and provide procedural safeguards

•Provide educational services, as provided in N

C

1501-1.1(a) so as to enable the child to continue to participate in the general education curriculum

, although in another setting, and to progress tow

ard m

eeting the goals set out in the child’s IEP•

Have the child’s IEP team

determine the appropriate

services•

Conduct a M

anifestation Determ

ination within 10

school days of the decision to change the placement

If there IS a pattern O

R w

ould exceed 10 consecutive school days then…

NC

1504-2 Discipline Procedures

Policy says…(e) M

anifest determination.

(1) Within 10 school days of any decision to

change the placement of a child w

ith a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the LE

A, the parent, and relevant

mem

bers of the child’s IEP team m

ust review all

and any relevant information in the student’s file,

including the child’s IEP, any teacher observations, and any relevant inform

ation provided by the parents

NC

1504-2.1 (e)

https://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/policies/forms

/statewide-form

s

MD

Form

Manifestation D

etermination-D

Os

NO

T Manifestation

•M

ay apply the disciplinary procedures in the sam

e manner and for duration

as would be applied to children

without disabilities E

XC

EP

T:•

MU

ST continue to receive educational

services determined by IE

P team

•M

US

T receive, as appropriate, an FB

A and behavioral intervention

services and modifications to address

the behavior OR

if already in place, it M

US

T be reviewed and revised as

necessary

WA

S a Manifestation

•If “failure to Im

plement IE

P” then

MU

ST rem

edy those deficiencies.•

If caused by, or direct and substantial relationship to disability then M

US

T–

Conduct FB

A and im

plement B

IPO

R–

Review

BIP

and modify as needed to

address the behavior

•R

eturn the child to the placement

from w

hich the child was rem

oved*(unless special circum

stance)

NC

1504-2.1(e)(f)(g)

Cases to C

onsider

•J.H

. v. Rose Tree M

edia Sch. D

ist.,118 LRP

38235(E

.D. P

a. 09/17/18)

•S

outh Bronx (N

Y)C

lassical Charter S

chool Office for C

ivil R

ights, Eastern D

ivision, NY

02-12-1064 June 7, 2012

Regional C

harter SupportVacantR

egional Consultant N

ortheast, Southeast,

North C

entral, Sandhills

@dpi.nc.gov

919-807-3995

Rob M

cOuat

Regional C

onsultant Piedm

ont-Triad, S

outhwest, N

orthwest, W

esternrobert.m

couat@dpi.nc.gov

336-416-1695

Karen Little

Monitoring C

onsultant karen.little@

dpi.nc.gov919-807-3994

Ginger C

ashC

onsultant for Intervention ginger.cash@

dpi.nc.gov919-807-4024

Teresa P. Cestaro

Monitoring C

onsultant teresa.cestaro@

dpi.nc.gov704-491-6458

Heidi C

aricoC

onsultant for Autism

heidi.carico@

dpi.nc.gov828-508-1235

Questions?