I.                   Summary of IDEA Discipline Procedures

Removals for 10 School Days or Less

• To the extent removal would be applied to children without disabilities, school personnel may remove a child with a disability for up to 10 school days, and for additional removals of up to 10 school days for separate acts of misconduct, as long as the removals do not constitute a pattern. For the first 10 days of school removal within a school year, no services or procedures are required, beyond the state law requirements that apply to all students.
• It is recommended that before a student accumulates 8 school days of suspension in a school year, the IEP team should convene to review or revise any existing behavior intervention plan. If no behavior intervention plan exists, the team should conduct a functional behavior assessment and develop a behavior intervention plan.

Removals beyond 10 School Days

• Prior to removing the student, a functional behavior assessment and corresponding behavior intervention plan must be developed by the IEP team. If a BIP already exists, the plan should be reviewed and the team will determine if the plan needs to be modified.
• Prior to removing a student beyond 10 school days in a school year, the team must determine whether the proposed removal will result in a change of placement, and if so, whether the student’s conduct is related to the student’s disability. A disciplinary change of placement is considered to be:
  • a removal for more than 10 consecutive school days or;
  • a series of removals that cumulate to more than 10 school days in a year and  constitute a patters
• The analysis of whether a pattern exists should be made by school administrators in consultation with the Department of Special Education and should be done prior to exceeding 10 days in a school year. Analysis would be based on such factors as:
  • length of each removal
  • total amount of time the student is removed
  • proximity of the removals to one another
  • behavior(s) resulting in the removals
• During any subsequent removal for 10 school days or less, schools provide services to the extent determined necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the goals of his or her IEP. In cases involving removals for 10 school days or less, school personnel, in consultation with the child's special education teacher, make the service determination.

Removals Resulting in a Change of Placement

• Conduct a manifestation determination within 10 days of the decision to seek removal.
• During any long-term removal for behavior that is not a manifestation of a child's disability, schools provide services to the extent determined necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the goals of his or her IEP. In cases involving removals for behavior that is not a manifestation of the child's disability, the child's IEP team makes the service determination.

For more detailed information regarding IDEA regulations, consult with your school psychologist, behavior specialist, or refer to:

IDEA '97 Final Regulations:   Disciplining Children with Disabilities

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA/Discipline_qa.doc

Tennessee Department of Education:  Rights of Children with Disabilities and Parent Responsibilities

http://tennessee.gov/education/speced/doc/spedrights.pdf

II.                Review of Discipline Changes in IDEA 2004

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed into law on Dec. 3, 2004, by President George W. Bush.  This summary addresses only the changes to the provisions regarding discipline of IDEA that will take effect on July 1, 2005.  

·        Adds new authority for school personnel

School personnel may consider any unique circumstances on a case-by-case basis when deciding to order a change in placement for a child with a disability who violates a student conduct code. [615(k)(1)(A)] 

·        Establishes a new standard for manifest determinations

Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the local educational agency (LEA), parent and relevant members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team (as determined by the parent and LEA) shall 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 if conduct was:

• Caused by, or was in direct and substantial relationship to, the child's disability; or
• A direct result of the LEA's failure to implement the IEP.  [615(k)(1)(E)(i)]

• Adds a new provision when there is a determination that a behavior was a manifestation of the disability.

If the LEA, parent and relevant members of the IEP team … determine that the conduct was a manifestation of the child’s disability, the IEP team shall:

• Conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavioral intervention plan for the child; or
• If a behavioral intervention plan has been developed, review the existing plan and modify it as necessary to address the behavior.

If the behavior is a manifestation of the child’s disability, the child is returned to the placement from which he or she was removed, unless the parent and LEA agree otherwise.  [615(k)(1)(F)]

• Establishes a new standard for special circumstances

A school is permitted to remove a child with a disability to an alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the child’s disability, in cases where a child:

• Carries or possesses a weapon to or at school, on school premises, or to or at a school function under jurisdiction of a state educational agency (SEA) or LEA;
• 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 function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or LEA; or
• Has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or LEA. [615(k)(1)(G)]

• Adds a new definition

Serious Bodily Injury: defined in USC 1365(g) to mean a bodily injury that involves a 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 faculty.  [615(k)(7)(D)]

• Authority of the Hearing Officer

In making the determination under Section 615(k)(3)(B)(i), the hearing officer may order a change in placement of a child with a disability ... in such situations, the hearing officer may return a child with a disability to the placement from which the child was removed or order a change in placement of a child with a disability to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days if the hearing officer determines that maintaining the current placement of such child is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to others. [615(k)(3)(B)(ii)]

·        Placement during appeals

When an appeal under Section 615(k)(3) has been requested by either the parent or the LEA, the child shall remain in the interim alternative educational setting pending the decision of the hearing officer, or until the expiration of the time period provided for in Section 615(k)(1)(C), whichever occurs first, unless the parent and the SEA or LEA agree otherwise.  [615(k)(4)(A)]

·        Establishes a timeline for expedited hearings for placement during appeal

The SEA or LEA shall arrange for an expedited hearing, which shall occur within 20 school days of the date the hearing is requested, and shall result in a determination within 10 school days after the hearing.  [615(k)(4)(B)]

·        Revises the standard for a basis of knowledge for children not yet eligible for special education and related services

An LEA is deemed to have knowledge that a child is a child with a disability if, before the behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred, a:

o       Parent expressed concern in writing to an administrator or a teacher;

o       Parent of the child has requested an evaluation of the child pursuant to Section 614(a)(1)(B); or

o       Teacher or other school or LEA personnel expressed specific concerns about a pattern of behavior demonstrated to an administrator. [615(k)(5)(B)]

III.             Functional Behavior Assessment

Behavior intervention plans have always sought to improve behavior, but often were developed with no relation to the function of the behavior. Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) allow school staff to develop interventions that are logically related to the function of the behavior. These interventions can serve the hypothesized function and effectively change inappropriate behaviors.

• IDEA Regulations
  • Meetings of a child's IEP team to develop a behavioral assessment plan, or (if the child has one) to review the child's behavioral intervention plan, are only required when the child has first been removed from his or her current placement for more than 10 school days in a school year, and when commencing a removal that constitutes a change in placement. However, we recommend developing a behavior intervention plan when a student first begins displaying a pattern of behavior that interferes with his/her learning or the learning of others.
  • If other subsequent removals occur, the IEP team members review the child's behavioral intervention plan and its implementation to determine if additional modifications are necessary, and only meet if one or more team members believe that modifications are necessary.
     

• What is an FBA?
   

It is the process of gathering information to determine the relationship between events in the student’s environment, the occurrence of the inappropriate behavior, and the typically following consequences. Its purpose is to gather relevant information about a pattern of behavior. The goal is to develop a hypothesis about the function of the behavior. The gathered information should then be used to build effective behavior intervention plans. 

• When should an FBA be conducted?
   

FBAs can be proactive and are not necessarily tied to special education, dangerous behaviors, or as a precursor to change in placement, suspension or expulsion. They are used as a foundation upon which behavior intervention plans are developed. When they are used only in a crisis situation or due to the necessity of regulations, they can be ineffective.

o       An FBA should be conducted when a student demonstrates a pattern of behavior that interferes with his/her learning or the learning of others. An FBA must be conducted when a student with a disability is exhibiting a pattern of behavior that is resulting in multiple removals from his/her current placement and/or the IEP team is considering a change of placement as a result of inappropriate behaviors.  An FBA should be conducted prior to a student’s removal for 10 cumulative school days. 

o       However, most students can benefit when an FBA is conducted in these situations:

• A student’s academic progress, or the academic progress of others is impeded because of his/her behavior
• When current or past interventions have been ineffective and an FBA has not been conducted 

• Who conducts an FBA?

An FBA is a team effort. The assessment team should consist of people who are knowledgeable about the student and may include:

• Parent(s)
• Special education teacher(s)
• General education teacher(s)
• LEA representative
• Behavior specialist
• School psychologists
• Related service personnel
   

Each team member should be delegated a portion of the assessment before it begins.
 

• What is included in an FBA?
  • Target behaviors written in observable and measurable terms
  • Written documentation of the behaviors and other relevant factors (i.e. academic performance, behavior rating scales/checklists)
  • Observations in varied settings
  • Teacher, parent and student interviews
  • Descriptions of previous interventions/modifications and their outcomes
  • Summary statements and hypotheses about the function of the behavior(s)
  • Any other relevant information (i.e. reinforcement survey, discipline records, student’s strengths and weaknesses) that may help understand the behavior

• Is parental permission needed to conduct an FBA?

If an FBA is part of an initial evaluation or a reevaluation, it requires parental permission. If it is a review of existing data, it does not require parent permission. However, best practice is that the parent(s) always be notified and included in an FBA.

IV.               Developing Behavioral Interventions Plans (BIP)

• IDEA Regulations
  • Meetings of a child's IEP team to develop a behavioral assessment plan, or (if the child has one) to review the child's behavioral intervention plan, are only required when the child has first been removed from his or her current placement for more than 10 school days in a school year, and when commencing a removal that constitutes a change in placement. However, we recommend developing a behavior intervention plan when a student first begins displaying a pattern of behavior that interferes with his/her learning or the learning of others.
  • If other subsequent removals occur, the IEP team members review the child's behavioral intervention plan and its implementation to determine if additional modifications are necessary, and only meet if one or more team members believe that modifications are necessary.
     
• What is a BIP?   
  A BIP is a formal plan that establishes what changes will occur to help a student reduce problem behaviors and become more successful. The plan will define what team members will do differently to decrease undesirable behaviors, and increase desirable behaviors. Additionally, the plan should establish how the team will monitor the effectiveness of the plan on changing the target behaviors. A BIP that results from an FBA should describe:
  • What appropriate skills/behaviors will be taught to the student and will serve the same function as the inappropriate behavior?
  • How will those skills be taught and how will change be measured?
  • What changes will be made in the environment/curriculum to decrease the likelihood of the inappropriate behaviors and increase the likelihood of the appropriate behavior?
  • What responses will be made when the inappropriate and appropriate behaviors are exhibited?
  • What methods will be used to evaluate the outcome of the BIP?
  • What is the responsibility of each person on the team?
     
• When should a BIP be developed?  
  In addition to those times that are necessitated by federal regulations (see IDEA Regulations), a BIP should be developed when a student’s behavior is impeding his/her ability to learn or the ability of others to learn. A BIP should be developed as soon a pattern of undesirable behavior begins to emerge in order to prevent the frequency, intensity, and/or duration of the behavior from increasing.  
   
• Who is involved in developing a BIP?   While a BIP is a team effort, parent(s) and guardian(s) should be involved in every step of this process. The team should consist of people who are knowledgeable about the student and may include:
  • Parents/guardians
  • Special education teacher(s)
  • General education teacher(s)
  • LEA representative
  • Behavior specialist
  • School psychologist 
  • Related service personnel

                                           Requests for assistance from the behavior specialist should be made through your school psychologist.

• What is included in a developing a BIP?   Behavior intervention plans should be developed with consideration to the child’s disability, current research, and the contextual fit of the plan to the settings in which the behavior is being displayed. The behavior intervention plan should be directly related to the results of a functional behavior assessment including the function of the behavior. The intent of behavior intervention plans is to prevent the occurrence of undesirable behaviors and increase the likelihood of desirable behaviors. Therefore, the plan should include positive, antecedent-based interventions. At minimum, a BIP should include:
  • Target behaviors written in observable, measurable terms
  • Preventative, positive interventions
  • Persons responsible for implementing the plan
  • Methods for monitoring the effectiveness of the plan
  • Any other special considerations or information that will facilitate the implementation of the plan

V.                 Change of Placement; Manifestation Determinations

• The IDEA regulations provide that a change of placement occurs if a child is removed for more than 10 consecutive school days or is subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern because they cumulate to more than 10 school days in a school year, and because of factors such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the child is removed, and the proximity of the removals to one another.
• Manifestation determinations are only required if a school is implementing a removal that constitutes a change of placement. A school psychologist must be present for a manifestation determination meeting and will have the required forms for conducting this meeting.

Please see Review of Discipline Changes in IDEA 2004 for more detailed information regarding how the new regulations impacts manifestation determinations