What Factors Must Schools Consider When Suspending or Expelling Students?
by Jim Paris
When a student with a disability, or who is suspected of having a disability, engages in behavior at school that requires suspension or expulsion, schools must consider a variety of factors before removing the student from school.
This FOCUS on Results document includes six flow charts that guide school administrators and others as they decide whether or not it is appropriate to remove a student from school following a behavior incident. By following the steps in these decision-making charts, school staff will find it easier to comply with student discipline procedures and protect the rights of students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Michigan’s Revised Administrative Rules for Special Education.
What’s Inside the Document?
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has prepared six decision-making flow charts in its publication, Special Education Considerations in Student Discipline Procedures (2003). The six charts are reprinted in this document, as follows:
- Figure 1: For use just after an incident of student behavior occurs that results in a disciplinary removal from school.
- Figure 2: For use when the student is not yet eligible for special education.
- Figure 3: For use when removal does not constitute a change of placement.
- Figure 4: For use when removal does constitute a general change of placement.
- Figure 5: For use when a general change of placement follows a student behavior incident involving drugs or weapons.
- Figure 6: For use when a general change of placement follows a student behavior incident involving dangerous behavior (see Glossary below).
Principles to Consider
Glossary
Dangerous behavior— behavior that is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or to others.
Source: 34 CFR 300.521
Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)—a process of gathering information to develop an informed, data-based plan to support positive behavior changes in students.
Source: Positive Behavior Support for ALL Michigan Students: Creating Environments That Assure Learning – Summary (June 2001) MDE, OSE/EIS
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)—a written, individualized behavior support plan. A BIP can address replacement behavior and reinforcement for independent student work. BIPs incorporate Positive Behavior Support (PBS) to address identified academic and behavior concerns.
Source: Positive Behavior Support for ALL Michigan Students: Creating Environments That Assure Learning – Executive Summary (September 2000) MDE, OSE/EIS |
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All discipline decisions regarding students with disabilities must be consistent with the following legal and procedural principles:
- Principle 1: Students with disabilities have a right to special protections if the behavior that led to the discipline is related to their disability.
- Principle 2: Attention must be paid to the number of days of suspension.
- Principle 3: Attention must be paid to the type and severity of the behavior.
- Principle 4: Disciplinary action involves a variety of procedural steps, and the parent must be made aware of these steps.
- Principle 5: No matter what happens, the special education student always
retains the right to a free and appropriate public education experience.
- Principle 6: Special education students retain all of the rights that general education students have regarding suspension and expulsion.
The charts will walk you through the decision-making process regarding a number of scenarios. The following key will help you understand various steps and notations on the chart. It may help to read and understand this information before using the charts.
Key to Information in the Charts
Whenever a superscript 1, 2, or 3 is used involving an action or decision in the flow charts, refer to the following explanations:
- On the day on which the decision is made to remove the student, the school provides parent notice of special education rights and procedures. This step refers to the notice schools are required to give the parent of a student who is receiving special education services whenever the school proposes a discipline procedure that will result in an accumulation of more than 10 school days of removal in a school year. Such a removal constitutes a proposed change in placement and triggers a parent notice required for special education action by the school. The notice is given on the day on which the decision to remove the student is made. The school must also provide the parents with a copy of Michigan’s Procedural Safeguards Available to Parents of Children with Disabilities.
- The individualized educational program team (IEPT) reviews the
need for a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)[see Glossary page 7]. This step refers to an IEPT meeting to consider the status of an FBA and BIP for the student. Within 10 business days after first removing a student for more than 10 school days, the IEPT must:
- Review the appropriateness of a BIP if one already exists.
- If a BIP does not exist, plan an FBA to complete a BIP as soon as practicable.
- When further removals occur during the school year, meet to review the BIP upon request of any IEPT member.
- Does the IEPT consider the behavior a manifestation of the disability? This step refers to an IEPT meeting (held within 10 school days of the decision to remove a student from school for discipline) during which the relationship between the behavior subject to discipline and a disability is determined. A behavior is not considered a manifestation of a disability if:
- The IEPT first considers all of the following factors:
- Evaluation and diagnostic results.
- Observations of the student.
- The individualized education program (IEP) and placement.
- And then determines that all of the following are true:
- The IEP and placement were appropriate.
- Supplementary aids and services were provided consistent with the IEP.
- Behavioral interventions were provided consistent with the IEP.
- The student understood and could control the behavior.
What If You Suspect a Violation Has Occurred?
If you believe a school has failed to protect a student’s rights through a violation of these suspension and expulsion procedures, you may be able to file a formal special education complaint. You can learn more in FOCUS on Results
GATA 04-01, “What Is the Process in Michigan for Resolving Disputes Regarding Suspensions and Expulsions?”
The document outlines the legal and procedural principles that affect decisions about disciplinary actions for students with disabilities. It describes the steps parents or other concerned adults can take to ensure that a student with a disability is not improperly suspended or expelled for behavior incidents at school.
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Jim Paris is a consultant with the Policy and Compliance Program of the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services (OSE/EIS). For more information, contact him at OSE/EIS, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, MI 48909; (888) 320-8384; Fax (517) 335-0474; e-mail: parisjim@michigan.gov.
“Parent” as defined in IDEA §300.20 refers to 1) a natural or adoptive parent of a child; 2) a guardian (but not the State) if the child is a ward of the State; 3) a person acting in the place of a parent (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child's welfare); or 4) a surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with §300.515.
Procedural Safeguards Available to Parents of Children with Disabilities—This 18-page document, updated in March of 2003, provides parents of children with disabilities, from birth through age 26, an overview of their educational rights with respect to special education.
Source for this document:
Special Education Considerations in Student Discipline Procedures. (2003) Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education /Early Intervention Services.
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