Board hears detailed guidance on discipline rules for students with disabilities

Meredith Siebert, attorney with Dove, Freeman & Siebert, and district special‑education staff briefed trustees on federal disciplinary protections for students with disabilities under IDEA and Section 504.

Siebert explained the practical rule trustees and administrators must follow: districts may remove a student with a disability for up to 10 cumulative school days in a year without triggering additional protections, "but once you hit those 10 days it's considered a disciplinary change in placement," she said. She described two triggers for a disciplinary change in placement: more than 10 cumulative removal days or a single removal that is more than 10 consecutive days.

At that point the school must convene an IEP team for a manifestation determination review (MDR) to consider whether the conduct was caused by, had a direct and substantial relationship to, the student’s disability or was the result of the district’s failure to implement the IEP. If the MDR finds the behavior is related to the disability, the student generally returns to the prior placement and the IEP team must conduct a functional behavior assessment (FBA) and develop a behavior intervention plan (BIP). If the MDR finds the behavior is not related to the disability, the district may apply discipline to the same extent as for non‑disabled students, but the student retains a right to services in an alternate setting.

Siebert also reviewed the limited exceptions that allow interim alternative educational settings for up to 45 days even when behavior is related to disability — carrying a weapon to school, knowingly using/possessing illegal drugs at school, or inflicting serious bodily injury. She stressed the administrative burden and potential due‑process oversight (Office for Civil Rights, state complaints, due‑process hearing officers) and urged teams to be proactive about positive behavior supports and documentation.

Trustees asked many procedural questions — including how removal days are counted (suspensions, bus removals that prevent attendance when transportation is an IEP service), timelines for convening MDRs and how schools balance staff concerns about classroom safety and equitable application of discipline. District staff said MDRs are scheduled promptly (often within days) because time out of school triggers state monitoring obligations, and noted that a BIP requires parent consent to the underlying FBA evaluation.

The presentation clarified legal obligations and highlighted the balance schools must strike between student rights and classroom management.