DISCIPLINE
Discipline of EC Students – Narrative
Overview – 1
Disciplinary removal defined – 2
Change of placement for disciplinary reasons – 3
Suspensions up to 10 days – 4
Non-exceptional, referred, 504 students – 4
Manifestation Determination – 5
Behavioral Intervention Plans – 5
Functional Behavioral Assessments – 5
Day 11 Requirements – 6
Individualized Alternative Instruction – 7
Alternative Special/General Education – 8
Weapons/Drugs/Serious Bodily Injury – 9
Alternative School - 9
Exclusion Summary for EC Students – Flow chart
Discipline of EC Students
All students including students with special needs should be treated fairly with respect to
discipline. Students with special needs have specific safeguards and rights by federal and
state laws and cannot be excluded from their educational program without following
procedures. It is important to work with students early to prevent misbehavior and to
provide appropriate behavioral intervention plans and goals through the IEP process.
Students with special needs cannot be excluded from school (suspended) for more than 10
cumulative days in a school year without following directions. Services must be provided
starting with day 11 and the IEP team must meet as defined in this section.
Schools should first try to work with behavior in the school setting. Repeated problematic
behavior should be addressed early through the IEP process; teams should systematically
analyze the behavior through a Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA) and then develop a
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and/or behavioral goals. Suspension should always be a
last resort and used sparingly; it rarely improves behavior.
Readers are encouraged to refer to Rockingham County Schools’ Board Policy on Student
Conduct (Policy Code: 4300 Code of Student Conduct).
When Exclusion Is Required: If a student’s behavior is so severe that the student needs to
be removed from school, you have these options:
 Up to 10 school days in a school year, school personnel may remove
(suspend) as any student. However, day 11 triggers need for service and
decisions, so 10 days should be used very cautiously for students with
special needs.
 Over 10 days but not “change of placement for disciplinary removal”
defined as long term or a pattern of short term suspensions (see page 2),
school personnel may remove (suspend) as any student. However, the
school will need to follow procedures outlined in this document and must
begin delivery of services (AS/GE or IAI).
 Students who are considered for long term suspensions or for whom pattern
is determined must have a Manifestation Determination (MD). Then,
o If the behavior is not related to the disability, the student may
receive normal disciplinary action (suspension). However, the
student will need delivery of services (AS/GE or IAI).
o If the behavior is related to the disability, the student may NOT be
excluded (suspended).
 At all stages the IEP team may meet to determine an alternative placement.
The new placement would then not be considered as removal or suspension.
Note that the team would have to meet again to change placement back to
the original school setting when or if such a change is warranted.
Prevention is easier than following these procedures! Convene IEP teams at the first
sign of problems, complete Functional Behavioral Assessments, and write strong
behavioral intervention plans and/or goals. Consider staffing at least by the 7th day
of removal. Make considerations of behavior a regular part of annual IEP meetings
for "problem prone" students. Be Proactive!
Discipline of EC Students
page 2
Discipline Summary (Details follow)
Disciplinary removals over 10 days that are NOT a change of placement for disciplinary
reasons (long term/pattern) require:
 Principal “No Pattern” letter should be sent home on the same day.
 Access to educational services (IAI or AS/GE determined by school personnel),
 FBA/BIP as appropriate.
Disciplinary removals that are a change of placement for disciplinary reasons (long
term/pattern) require:
 Principal Notification (DEC 5a) MUST be sent home on the same day,
 Access to educational services determined by IEP team,
 Manifestation Determination (MD),
o If MD, then cannot remove (unless weapon, drug, serious bodily injury)
 Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) completed or reviewed, and
 Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) completed or reviewed.
All disciplinary removals are counted as suspensions unless the IEP team meets for THAT
situation and changes the student’s special education placement (i.e., to homebound).
School Removal for Disciplinary Reasons Defined
School removal includes ANY removal of a student with special needs from general and
special education programs (i.e., more than negligible exclusions for disciplinary reasons).
The following count as removals, are coded as suspensions, and count towards the 10 days:
 Out of School Suspensions (even if services are provided).
 In School Suspensions, Time Out, Time at SCORE unless the student
continues to receive general and special education services for the full day.
 Individualized Alternative Instruction (IAI) in which the student’s IEP
defines circumstances under which the student gets services for part of the
day to work on special and general education and to process behavior.
 Modified day including sending home early for discipline reasons.
 Bus suspensions if the student has special transportation on his/her IEP and
the student as a result of the suspension does not get to school that day.
 Days missed (even if IAI or other services are provided) while waiting for
an IEP meeting to staff a change of placement.
NOTES:
 For any removals as defined above:
o Code as suspension on SIMS, d-Tract, etc.
o Report on DISC1 form and send to the EC Department at Central Office
 Students with special needs MUST receive services starting on their 11th day of school
removal.
 When the behavior is a manifestation of the disability, the student CANNOT be
removed from school without a change of special education placement by the IEP team
(exception: weapon, drugs, or serious bodily injury).
 If and only if the student is staffed at each incident for a change of placement through
the IEP process would modified day or IAI not count as a removal (suspension).
Discipline of EC Students
page 3
Change of Placement
A Change in Placement for Discipline Reasons Occurs if:
(a) The removal is for more than 10 consecutive school days; or
(b) The student has been subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern(1) Totaling more than 10 school days in a school year;
(2) The behavior is substantially similar to behavior in previous incidents that
resulted in the series of removals; and
(3) Because of such additional factors as the length of each removal, the total
amount of time the child has been removed, and the proximity of the removals
to one another.
IDEA assigns the determination of pattern to “the public agency.” This decision and the person(s)
making the determination should be documented on the DISC4 form. When appropriate or
requested by parents, use the IEP team to determine pattern.
For each suspension after the 10th day, if it is not a change of placement for disciplinary reasons,
the principal sends the “no pattern” letter and the student receives services determined by school
personnel.
On the date of the decision to remove a student that is a change of placement for disciplinary
reasons, the LEA must notify parents of that decision and provide due process (Parent Handbook).
To do this the principal sends the DEC5a along with an Invitation to Conference and Parent
Handbook. A manifestation determination must be completed within 10 school days. An FBA and
BIP must be completed or reviewed if already completed. See page 6.
Changes in special education placements are NOT school removals (suspensions):
Students may be staffed by the IEP team (DEC 5) to change special education placement. For
example, the IEP committee may determine that a student needs individualized services in an
alternative environment. Change of special education placements are legal (although not always
appropriate) if the IEP team makes the change.
Any change in special education placement must be documented on:
 IEP (DEC 4): either by amendment or a new IEP,
 DEC 5: check reason: (√) change of placement and then note new setting, and
 CECAS form: send to CO with change in placement (setting) documented.
When a special education placement changes through the IEP process (for example, to modified
day or homebound), the new placement does not count as school removal and is not counted as
suspension.
The student will need to have the same staffing process (DEC5, IEP addendum, CECAS form) to
return back to the original placement when or if that is appropriate.
Examples of changes that might be considered by the IEP team based on behavior:
 Separate to modified day
 Regular to homebound services
 Homebound services to regular (when student returns after IAI sessions)
 Separate to regular (such as when students are reassigned to SCORE)
NOTE: Since IAI is not a category of service, students staffed to receive IAI are to be coded as
home/hospital on CECAS unless the service better fits another category. SIMS operators have
been directed to check DEC5 forms before not coding disciplinary removals as suspensions.
Discipline of EC Students
page 4
Suspensions up to 10 days per year
There are 10 and only 10 “free” suspension days. The principal has the authority to
suspend a student with special needs for up to 10 days per school year without committees,
procedures, due process, or the provision of services. If a specific service such as IAI is
written into an IEP for the behavior, it would be expected that the student would receive
that service (i.e., school return would depend on meeting IAI goals rather than exclusion
for a set number of days). As explained elsewhere, the IAI days will count as removals
(suspensions) unless the IEP team meets to change placement. A student with special
needs cannot be subjected to discipline that would be harsher than what would be used
with a student without special needs. Schools are urged to follow IEPs if the behavior is
addressed in the IEP; it does not make sense to develop a plan for a behavior if the plan is
not followed. Again, be proactive and do FBA’s and develop BIP’s for students with
repeated or severe behavioral issues.
Non-Exceptional and Referred Students
Students who are not eligible for special education are subject to the same protections as
students with special needs if the school had knowledge that the child is a child with a
disability before the behavior that precipitated the disciplinary action occurred.
“Knowledge” is defined as: parent expressed concern in writing, parent requested an
evaluation, or school personnel expressed specific concerns about a pattern of behavior
directly to supervisory personnel. If a referral occurs after the behavior, the evaluation
must be conducted in an expedited manner but school may follow normal disciplinary
procedures (without providing services).
Students who are already referred for behavioral reasons (DEC 1) would count as prior
knowledge. Students in SSMT or going through RTI (Response to Intervention) are not
considered as “prior knowledge.” MD’s and FBA’s do not make sense for students not yet
identified; it is very unclear what needs to be done for students who fit “prior knowledge.”
Providing some services to these students during removals over 10 days should satisfy their
legal rights.
504 Students
Students eligible under Section 504 have protections similar to students with special needs.
They will need Manifestation Determinations (MD) for suspensions that could be
considered changes in placement for disciplinary removals, but if the behavior is unrelated,
they will not require services during suspensions. If the behavior is related, at minimum
504 students will need services during exclusions.
Discipline of EC Students
page 5
Manifestation Determination
Required: Completed by LEA representative, parent, and relevant members of the child’s
IEP Team (as determined by parent and LEA) and must meet within 10 school days of
removal when there has been a change of placement. Best practice to always use the IEP
team.
After reviewing all relevant information in the student’s file (IEP, observations, parent
information) the team must decide if the behavior was a manifestation of the disability by
determining:
 If the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship
to, the child’s disability; or
 If the conduct in question was the direct result of the LEA’s failure to implement
the IEP [in which case the LEA must take immediate steps to remedy those
deficiencies].
Use the MD form to complete this staffing.
Behavioral Intervention Plans (BIP)
Completed by IEP committee – recommended for all students with special needs with
behavior difficulties. Required if change of placement for disciplinary reasons. If a BIP
has already been developed, review and modify it as necessary to address the behavior.
The most practical way to deal with repetitive, inappropriate behavior is to develop a
behavioral intervention plan as part of the IEP. IDEA 04 as well as best practices
emphasize the need to be proactive and to provide “positive behavioral supports.”
Behavioral plans are recommended for any student with special needs having problems
with behavior even if the behavior is not judged to be related to the disability. Teachers
may develop behavioral plans as IEP attachments and/or incorporate behavioral goals into
the IEP. Generally students who exhibit behavioral problems related to their disability will
have behavioral goals and students with behavior that may result in school removals will
have behavioral plans (thus many students will have both). The Behavior Description and
Management Plan included in this section is a tool that may be useful to develop a BIP. A
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) should be performed as needed to provide
information that will assist in developing a meaningful BIP.
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)
Completed by IEP committee – recommended for all students with special needs with
behavior difficulties. Required if change of placement for disciplinary reasons. If an FBA
has already been done, review and modify it as necessary to address the behavior.
Schools should be proactive and perform an FBA before the student accumulates the 10th
day of removal. If there is a disciplinary change of placement and an FBA has already been
completed, a new FBA is not required for each removal; however, the FBA needs to be
reviewed regularly. DPI advices us to review the FBA after about every 5 additional days
of school removal. In Rockingham County Schools, either a BED teacher or psychologist
should be involved in the FBA process. An FBA is performed by the IEP committee; the
required information should already have been compiled. Please refer to the FBA form and
the Functional Behavioral Assessment Position Paper for more detailed information.
Discipline of EC Students
page 6
Day 11 Requirements (and for each subsequent removal)
Starting with the 11th day of removal, the school must:
1. Provide services. No exceptions! Which services are provided and who determines
appropriate services depends upon IEP contents, whether there has been a change of
placement for disciplinary reasons, and the results of any manifestation determination.
2. Determine if change of placement for disciplinary reasons (see page 3).
a. If is not a change of placement, school personnel in consultation with student’s
teacher determine AS/GE (unless IAI is in the IEP). Send “no pattern” letter.
b. If is change of placement,
i. On day of incident, send DEC5a, Parent Handbook, and Invitation.
ii. Do a Manifestation Determination (MD). Then:
1. If the behavior is not a manifestation of the disability based on
the MD:
a. The student may be suspended similar to a general
education student.
b. If IAI is in the IEP, it is expected that they will receive
this service. Otherwise the IEP team determines services
(AS/GE). Services at SCORE might also be an option.
c. Code the removal as a suspension unless the IEP team
does a change of placement (including DEC5 change of
placement)
2. If the behavior is a manifestation of the disability based on the
MD:
a. The student must be returned to the placement from
which the student was removed unless the parent and
school agree to a change of placement (including DEC5
change of placement).
iii. Conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) unless it is already
completed (current IEP and current school year). If completed, review
as needed (DPI recommends after about each 5th day of removal).
iv. Develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) designed to address the
behavior violation so that it does not recur. If the BIP has already been
developed, review the BIP and modify as necessary to address the
behavior (DPI recommends after about each 5th day of removal).
Services Provided (AS/GE): The standard is that the student must “continue to receive
educational services … so as to enable the child to continue to participate in the general
education curriculum, although in another setting, and to progress towards meeting the
goals set out in the child’s IEP.” The extent of services needed depends on length of
removal, number of previous removals, and student’s needs and educational goals.
Students may be served away from other students in alternative settings or homebound
when appropriate.
NOTE: All removals after 10 cumulative school days in a school year should be
documented on a DISC4 form which is then sent to Central Office as well as filed in the
“RE, EC and DEC Forms” section of the special education file.
Discipline of EC Students
page 7
Individualized Alternative Instruction (IAI)
IAI is a service delivery plan written into the IEP (thus showing parental agreement) used
when certain targeted behaviors occur in order to provide both academic support and
behavioral redirection and/or processing. IAI is intended to deal quickly with the behavior
in order to return the student to the regular school program and typically will require a
minimum number of face to face individualized sessions at an alternative time and/or
location. IAI counts as school removal/suspension unless staffed upon each occurrence by
the IEP team as a change of placement (see page 3) or if it results in a full day program
including general education and special education services. Whether or not IAI is staffed
as a change of placement, all uses of IAI must be documented on a DISC 1 form and sent
to Central Office. If each use of IAI is not staffed, it must be coded as a suspension on
SIMS, D-tract, and/or other accountability systems.
Students who have IAI goals written as part of their IEP must receive IAI when warranted
based on their IEP. For example, if IAI is a consequence of severe aggression, the student
should receive IAI for that behavior. The IEP should include academic and behavioral/
processing goals to be accomplished on IAI. Clear criteria for returning to school must be
in the IEP and the student may not receive IAI beyond the time it takes to accomplish these
goals unless there has been an IEP change of special education placement.
IAI is not special education suspension! Do not issue set numbers of days of IAI since IAI
defines criteria for student reentry to school. IAI is used to improve behavior; if the
behavior that leads to IAI does not change, an IEP meeting should be convened to explore
other ideas. The processing worksheet included in this section may be used to document
progress during IAI sessions.
The advantage to having IAI in an IEP is that services during removals are clearly defined
prior to the behavior and the school will be proactive in processing behavior while
maintaining academic goals.
In summary, the IEP can predetermine circumstances and services for disciplinary removal,
which we call IAI. However IAI counts as disciplinary removal (suspension) unless staffed
upon each occurrence.
NOTE:
 If the student has been staffed as a change of special education placement, then
when the IAI goal is reached the student cannot return to school until staffed for a
return change of placement by the IEP team.
 IAI without a staffed change of placement counts as removal including days before
IAI began (assuming student is out of school).
Discipline of EC Students
page 8
Alternative Special/General Education (AS/GE)
Students must receive educational services during all removals starting with day 11. If IAI
is not a part of the IEP, AS/GE must be chosen in order that the student will “continue to
receive educational services, so as to enable the child to continue to participate in the
general education curriculum, although in another setting, and to progress towards meeting
the goals set out in the child’s IEP.” These services would be provided for the duration of
the assigned days of removal/suspension from school (unlike IAI which is based on serving
a student until goals are met).
Determining whether or not there has been a “change of placement for disciplinary
removal” (see page 3) is needed in order to determine who decides what services will be
provided.
 If there has not been a change of placement for disciplinary removal, AS/GE
services may be determined by school personnel in consultation with at least one of
the child’s teachers [suggest principal and special education teacher] and specify
the extent to which services are needed so as to enable the child to continue to
participate in the general education curriculum, although in another setting, and to
progress towards meeting the goals set out in the child’s IEP (document on DISC
4). No IEP addendum or CECAS is needed unless the IEP team meets to change
the special education placement. Services might include face to face services in an
alternative setting, sending work home followed by focused resource services upon
student return, etc. Of course the IEP team MAY meet to determine AS/GE.
 If there has been a change of placement for disciplinary reasons but the MD
determines that the behavior is not a manifestation of the disability, AS/GE is
determined by an IEP team and the services are documented on the IEP. On
EasyIEP please explain services provided in the IEP comment text box (on create
draft or final page). These services involve an IEP amendment (signatures). For
example, “Student will receive daily tutoring at home during suspensions.” Since
these are counting as suspensions, nothing else is needed. Depending on wording
on IEP, a new IEP meeting may not be needed for continued incidents of the same
behavior resulting in suspensions. If the IEP team determines that there is a change
in placement for special education (i.e., to homebound in which case suspensions
would not be counted), in addition to the IEP changes you would complete a DEC5
and CECAS.
 If there has been a change of placement for disciplinary reasons and the MD
determines that the behavior is a manifestation of the disability, the student must
return to his/her previous setting unless the IEP team makes a special education
change of placement (i.e., to homebound). If there is a change of placement, revise
the IEP and complete the DEC5 and CECAS forms.
Discipline of EC Students
page 9
Weapons/Drugs/Serious Bodily Injury:
If the offense involves weapons, drugs, and/or infliction of serious bodily injury, proceed
using 11 day requirements. These violations are clearly defined; the standard for serious
bodily injury is very high. The only difference in procedure is that if the manifestation
determination shows relationship between the behavior and the disability, the principal
may remove the student to an alternative setting for up to 45 school days (and AS/GE must
be provided as determined by the IEP committee). If the behavior is not related, the
student may be removed similar to a regular student. In both cases MD, FBA, BIP, and
services defined by IEP committee are required.
Alternative School
Students with special needs can be considered for SCORE Center or ALPS on the same
basis as students in general education. However, the IEP committee does not have the
authority to assign students to these programs. If a student with special needs attends one
of these programs, the IEP committee must determine what special education services are
needed in order for the student to progress towards his or her IEP goals in those settings.
Generally when a student is placed into an alternative program, the sending school will
revise the IEP to reflect needed services at the alternative school (for example, from
resource to regular). The sending school is responsible for providing services until the
student begins at the alternative program. Removing a student to an alternative program
(or other full day program that provides for general education and special education needs)
does not count as a disciplinary removal (suspension). SCORE may provide short term
individualize alternative instruction all day which would not be counted as suspension.
DISC Forms and Principal Letter
Complete a DISC 1 form EVERY time a student with special needs receives IAI and/or
disciplinary removal. If additional staff time and/or transportation are needed, a DISC 2
must be sent to the special education office. The DISC 4 worksheet must be completed for
each removal over the 10th day. A letter from the principal must also be sent after each
removal over the 10th day (“no pattern” letter if not a change of placement for discipline,
DEC5a if it is a change of placement for discipline). It is recommended that the principal
or his/her designee learn and handle these forms. Copies of DISC forms must be FAXed or
sent to CO.
Final Reminder
Unless a documented change of special education placement is staffed by the IEP
committee, all removals are coded as suspensions.
2/08