Menu
Can a child with an IEP be suspended? The answer is YES. However, students with an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP), have steps that must be taken if they are suspended from school.
Before any suspension occurs…If your child with an IEP, has increasing discipline problems at school, make sure to call an IEP meeting to discuss behavior concerns. You can request behavior/social emotional evaluation for your student if you feel it is appropriate. You can also request a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP).
If your child is being disciplined, via suspension, for their behavior, you need to understand both student and parental rights. Students with IEP’s have additional protection if they are suspended from school. What can the school do, what are student and parental rights in the case of a suspension?
Every child in the United States has the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). But, the terms FAPE and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) become more meaningful in a special education setting. I discuss these below. However, first let’s establish how a suspension is defined, and what you should do if it occurs.
If a request is made for you pick up your child while school is still in session, due to behavioral issues, this counts as a day of suspension. By asking you to pick up your child, the school is effectively denying your student access to their special education services, hence suspension.
If this occurs as a pattern, you should request an IEP meeting (in writing) to discuss your child’s behavioral needs, and to develop or revisit their Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP).
As your child is suspended, keep in mind the following statement about special education & FAPE:
A school cannot suspend your student for more than 10 days in a school year without holding a Manifest Determination meeting (sometimes referred to as MDT).
This meeting discusses whether or not the team feels that the student’s behavior is a result of, or is caused by, their disability.
There are two potential outcomes from this meeting:
As the team works toward getting a student back to school following a suspension, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) may come up. As a parent, make sure you are familiar with the policies and rights surrounding LRE. You may also want to have your LRE thoughts and ideas for your child, ready to discuss.
A child’s suspension is not fun for any family. The action and emotion can be amplified when your student has special needs, and an IEP. Going into the situation, make sure you get the IEP team together to establish and remedy root cause with an FBA and BIP.
Understand both the the school’s actions and student/parental rights. Take steps to ensure your child is not suspended for more than 10 days in a school year without an MDT meeting.
When return to school occurs, make sure that IEP services & goals, and BIP’s have been modified to support your student’s success. Also pay particular attention that your student is placed in their Least Restrictive Environment throughout the school day.
If I can answer any further questions for you, or if you wonder if I could directly support you as an advocate in your special education journey, please get in touch.
To watch my short videos on related topics:
You may also find these blog entries to be helpful:
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.