Discipline & Behavior · Parent Rights

Child With an IEP Gets Suspended: What Schools Must Do First

Federal law doesn’t stop applying the moment your child’s behavior becomes a problem. If your child has an IEP, the school must follow specific legal procedures before any significant discipline can take effect — and most parents don’t know what those procedures are until it’s too late.

The 10-Day Threshold: When Federal Protections Kick In

Not every suspension triggers special procedures under IDEA. The law distinguishes between:

• Short-term removals (fewer than 10 consecutive school days): generally permissible without triggering additional requirements, though the school must ensure educational services continue.
• Cumulative removals exceeding 10 school days: when a student has been removed for more than 10 school days in a school year, either in one suspension or through a pattern of shorter removals, specific IDEA procedures must be followed.

Once the 10-day threshold is crossed, the school must hold a Manifestation Determination Review before taking further disciplinary action that changes the student’s placement.

What Is a Manifestation Determination Review?

A manifestation determination review (MDR) is a meeting of the IEP team that must occur within 10 school days of a decision to remove a student for more than 10 school days. The team reviews all relevant information, including evaluation data, teacher observations, and the IEP itself, to answer two questions:

1. Was the behavior caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to, the student’s disability?
2. Was the behavior a direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP?

If the answer to either question is yes, the behavior is a manifestation of the disability.

If the Behavior IS a Manifestation

When the team determines the behavior was a manifestation of the disability, the school:

• ✓Cannot change the student’s placement through the disciplinary process without going through the IEP process and obtaining parent consent.
• ✓Must conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) if one hasn’t already been completed, to understand the function of the behavior.
• ✓Must implement or review the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), creating one if it doesn’t exist, or modifying the existing one to address the behavior.
• ✓Must return the student to the placement from which they were removed, unless the parent and school agree to a different placement through the IEP process.

If the Behavior Is NOT a Manifestation

When the team determines the behavior was not related to the disability, the school may apply the same disciplinary procedures as it would to a student without a disability. However, two important protections remain:

• The student must continue to receive educational services that allow them to progress in the general curriculum and receive their IEP services, even during the removal.
• The student must receive, as appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention services and modifications.

This means a student with an IEP can never simply be expelled from education, even if the behavior is found to be unrelated to the disability.

Special Circumstances: When the School Can Act Immediately

IDEA allows schools to remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) for up to 45 school days without a manifestation determination, regardless of whether the behavior is related to the disability, in three specific circumstances:

• The student carries or possesses a weapon at school or a school function
• The student knowingly possesses, uses, sells, or solicits the sale of illegal drugs at school or a school function
• The student inflicts serious bodily injury upon another person while at school or a school function

Even in these cases, the school must continue to provide FAPE during the removal.

What to Do Right Now

• ✓Count the days. Add up all removals this school year. If you are at or near 10 days, you are entering manifestation territory.
• ✓Request a manifestation determination review in writing if the school has proposed a long-term removal and hasn’t scheduled one. Email is fine; keep a copy.
• ✓Ask for the procedural safeguards notice. The school must provide this when initiating a disciplinary removal that changes placement. Read it carefully.
• ✓Attend the MDR meeting. You are a member of the IEP team. You have the right to participate in the determination.
• ✓Disagree in writing if you disagree. If the team determines the behavior was not a manifestation and you believe it was, state your disagreement at the meeting and follow up in writing. You have the right to request an expedited due process hearing.

The Relationship Between Behavior and IEP Implementation

One of the two questions at a manifestation determination review is whether the behavior was a direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP. This means that if services haven’t been delivered, goals haven’t been worked on, or accommodations haven’t been in place, the school’s own compliance failures may make disciplinary action legally impermissible. Documentation of missed services is directly relevant to a manifestation determination.

If you’ve had concerns about IEP implementation, now is the time to raise them. See what to do when your child’s IEP isn’t being followed for the documentation steps that matter here.