PDED 505 Special Education Legislation & Litigation

1
PDED 505Special Education Legislation
Litigation

• Disciplining Students with Disabilities

2
Disciplinary Provisions

• the major focus in revising the disciplinary
  provisions in IDEA 97 was to provide school
  officials with the means to execute their duty to
  ensure a safe school that is conducive to
  learning while also ensuring students with
  disabilities with a FAPE
• These disciplinary provisions are in part based
  on Honig v. Doe--where it was determined that
  schools cannot unilaterally change the placement
  of children thru expulsion.

3
4 themes run throughout the disciplinary
provisions

• all students, with and without disabilities, are
  entitled to an education in a safe,
  well-disciplined school learning environment
• school personnel should have effective strategies
  to prevent behavior problems deal with them in
  a positive manner when they do occur
• balance between order, safety, FAPE
• IEPs must address behavior intervention
  strategies

4
Disciplinary Provisions

• Change of Placement for Disciplinary Removals
• This is defined as removing a student from
  his/her educational placement for more than 10
  consecutive school days or a series of removals
  that cumulate to more than 10 school days

5
Disciplinary Provisions

• Change of Placement for Disciplinary Removals
• What does this mean?
• long term suspension expulsion a change of
  placement
• schools may not unilaterally change placement
  unless
• the student brings a weapon to school or
• uses/possesses/sells illegal drugs
• school personnel may now remove a student who
  has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another
  person while at school, on school premises, or at
  a school function to an IAES

6
Disciplinary Provisions

• When drugs/weapons/serious bodily injury occur a
  school may order a change in placement to
• an appropriate IAES, another setting, or
  suspension for not more than 10 school days and
• to an appropriate IAES for not more than 45
  school days

7
Disciplinary Provisions

• school personnel are given authority on a case
  by case basis to consider unique circumstances
  when determining whether to order a change in
  placement for a child with a disability who
  violates a code of student conduct
• ordinarily when a parent contests a change in
  placement, the "stay put" provision takes
  effectexcept in unilateral change of placement
  decisions involving weapons or drugs or serious
  bodily injury

8
Disciplinary Provisions

• School personnel may remove a child with a
  disability who 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 days and for additional
  removals of not more than 10 consecutive days in
  that same school year for separate incidents of
  misconduct (as long as those removals do not
  constitute a change of placement)

9
Disciplinary Provisions

• during the 45 school day period, the team and
  parents may decide to change the students
  "permanent" placement
• if no change is made, the student returns to the
  permanent placement

10
Disciplinary Provisions

• suspension (short term) is permissible as long as
  it does not result in a change of placement
  (generally suspensions are not of a significant
  length)
• butthe total amount of time cannot exceed 10
  days in a given school year
• if 10 days are approaching, the team should
  convene to discuss the appropriateness of the IEP
  whether a change in placement is warranted

11
Disciplinary Provisions

• long term suspension termination of educational
  services for more than 10 school days or for the
  remainder of the school semester/year
• expulsion complete termination of educational
  services for more than 10 days/school year
• the complete termination or cessation of
  educational services is not an option for
  students with disabilities
• a change of placement may be considered, but this
  change cannot stop a FAPE (this also includes
  related services, such as transportation)

12
Disciplinary Provisions

• If a change of placement is made to an IAES, what
  must occur?
• participation in the general education curriculum
  
• services addressing IEP goals
• services addressing behavior issues

13
Disciplinary Provisions

• Authority of School Personnel
• within 10 business days after removing a student
  for more than 10 school days or instituting a
  change of placement, the school must
• convene an IEP meeting to conduct a functional
  behavior assessment/develop a behavior
  intervention plan or
• convene an IEP meeting to review the plan, its
  implementation, modify as necessary

14
Disciplinary Provisions

• Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
• is based on a functional behavior assessment
• includes strategies, proactive behavioral
  interventions supports (positive behavior
  support), expected behaviors, target behaviors,
  consequences, disciplinary process to be
  followed (least to most intrusive)
• IDEA, 2004 provides funding to train school
  personnel in effective teaching strategies and
  positive behavioral interventions and supports to
  prevent over-identification and misidentification
  of students

15
Disciplinary Provisions

• before a student can be excluded for more than 10
  days, there MUST be an IEP meetingthe team must
  decide the following
• was the students program appropriate to meet
  needs was it implemented as designed?
• was the students behavior a manifestation of the
  disability?

16
Authority of Hearing Officer Determination of
Setting

• a hearing officer may order a change of placement
  to an IAES for not more than 45 school days

17
Authority of Hearing Officer Determination of
Setting

• considerations made by the hearing officer
• is the current placement likely to result in
  injury to the student or others?
• is the current placement appropriate?
• has the school made reasonable efforts to
  minimize the risk of harm?
• does the IAES meet the requirements stated in the
  law?

18
Authority of Hearing Officer Determination of
Setting

• this IAES must be one that allows the student to
  progress in the general curriculum continue to
  receive the services outlined in the IEP must
  also address the behavior of issue
• the school district may appeal the hearing
  officers decision seek a temporary restraining
  order resulting in the student being placed in an
  IAES
• the parents may appeal the hearing officers
  decision through a due process hearing the
  student would be placed in the IAES for the first
  45 school days of this appeal then returned to
  the original setting

19
Authority of Hearing Officer Determination of
Setting

• if parental consent is not given for an IAES, the
  school/district must schedule a due process
  hearing
• what placement options are available after a 45
  school-day IAES?
• return the student to the original placement
• during the 45 school-days, the IEP team may
  change the students placement with parental
  consent
• during the 45 school-days, the IEP team may
  recommend a change in placement without parental
  consent
• if the parents disagree with an IAES placement
  file a due process hearing, the student will go
  to the original placementunless the school
  maintains that this is dangerous

20
Manifestation Determination Review

• before excluding a student for more than 10 days,
  the IEP team must determine the appropriateness
  of the IEP conduct a "manifestation
  determination"
• is there a relationship between the behavior
  the disability?
• Is the conduct in question caused by or did it
  have a direct and substantial relationship to the
  childs disability?
• Was the conduct in question the direct result of
  the LEAs failure to implement the IEP?

21
Manifestation Determination Review

• if the team concludes that the behavior IS a
  manifestation of the disability /or the IEP is
  not appropriate
• long term suspension or expulsion MUST NOT occur
• the IEP must be revised the student must be
  provided with an appropriate program placement
• the student may be placed in an IAES for no more
  than 45 days, with parental consent

22
Manifestation Determination Review

• if the team concludes that the behavior IS NOT a
  manifestation of the disability nor was the IEP
  inappropriate
• long-term suspension may proceed using regular
  district procedures
• special ed. services must continue to be provided
  in an IAES deemed appropriate by the IEP team

23
Manifestation Determination Review

• when conducting a manifestation determination,
  the team must consider
• evaluation diagnostic results
• observations of the student
• the current IEP placement
• all other relevant sources of information
• did the students disability prevent him/her from
  understanding the impact consequences of the
  behavior?
• did the students disability prevent him/her from
  controlling the behavior?

24
Parental Appeal

• if the manifestation determination finds that the
  behavior is not a result of the students
  disability, a parent disagrees
• parent may request a due process hearingprovided
  on an expedited schedule
• the student will remain in the IAES pending this
  appealor until the time period expires
• the student will return to the original placement
  is no decision has been reached at the end of the
  time period, unless the school maintains that it
  is dangerous for the student in the original
  placement

25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)