Can a child with autism be suspended?

[aristocatz]

Question for those fluent in Sped law:

A child I know recently got suspended from their public school for running off from the playground. The child got sidetracked after they saw a bird and left the playground. The child has a history of poor safety awareness and impulsivity & this was a clear manifestation of their disability. The child also has a history of bolting BUT only when he/she is tantrumming and trying to escape from a task. This incident on the playground was isolated. The child got suspended for 5 days.

This child is currently on a behavior plan for tantrum and compliance issues. He/she had a thorough FBA completed on them based on those behaviors.

It was a terrible punishment because: a) the child did not understand that the 5 day suspension was a punishment and b) The suspension actually served as a reinforcer because the child is motivated by escaping from demands and their tantrum and compliance behaviors have increased after having a 5 day vacation.

Aside from being a stupid intervention for this child, was it within the law for this child to be suspended for 5 days when the incident was directly related to their disability?

Thank you.

 

[koolaidmoms]

The answer for NYS is yes, but...

the following is from the NYS ed dept.(about when a child is facing possible long term suspension):

The hearing is done in two parts. The first part, Manifestation Determination, determines if the child's misconduct is related to the disability. If it is, the hearing stops there. If it doesn't, the student goes back for the second part of the hearing to seek punishment. If the child's punishment results in suspension for more than 10 consecutive days, the child's placement is reconsidered. The CSE reviews the IEP and creates a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) that addresses the behaviors. Again, if the parent disagrees they have the right to an impartial hearing.

Hope this helps some.

 

[Ali]

I have a child who runs off the playground on a daily basis, laughs at us when we give direction to come back, and runs further away when someone goes to get the child. Eventually the child returns when given a job to do on the way back inside. Why on earth would this be an offense that would be considered a major offense and in need of a write up? I don't get it.

I have had students who run out of my classroom when tantrumming, which freaks us out, but are not a suspension type event. When they stab me with pencils, hit me purposefully, or bite me in anger I can see being written up to keep track on a behavior plan, but running away from a playground out of distraction? nope.

Seems to me that the teacher or assistant who was in charge of the child wasn't doing their job. Was that person punished?

 

[taylor3297]

Yes, a child with autism can be suspended. In most cases a child with special needs can not be suspended for more than 10 days in a given school year. I am surprised that the child was suspended for 5, one day should have been plenty.

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you for your replies so far

Just to answer some questions & add in a little background to this story, the principal has been trying to get this child out of their school from the first day the child arrived there. The principal sees this child as "trouble" and does not want the child there (not that the principal has a choice...). We are not talking about a rational principal. A 5 day suspension was absolutely excessive here. The principal has a history of not being very moral and that's why I am concerned about the principal's actions.

It was absolutely not the fault of the teacher or teaching assistant. As mentioned, this child does not have a history of running off like this and has not done this all year (or in years passed). The child is impulsive though & this literally happened within a matter of seconds. The teacher and teaching assistants immediately went into action & got the child to safety. They handled things correctly. I am not the teacher or teaching assistant, by the way

The principal has also suspended this child for engaging in tantrums in the past, which the child does have an active behavior plan for. The principle bypassed the intervention that was supposed to be followed and suspended this child instead. Suspension was the worst thing to do to this child, as the child tantrums as a method of escape & sending the child home only reinforced the behavior

 

[Libbyt]

I think the answer about the suspension may depend on state dept. of ed regs.........but I would check Wrightslaw and do some research on federal law.

The thing that struck me immediately, though, about this post is this: why is the child playing on a playground that is not secured with a fence? Where do your state laws/school regs stand on this?

 

[teachallday]

Any child can be suspended for up to 10 days without "Manifest Destiny" issues coming into play.

Now with a special education kid, once they reach a total of 10 days for the school year, a meeting must be held. This is not 10 days in one time, but 10 total for the year. A district must look at if the suspensions are due to the disability once that 10 day mark is reached. A parent can also dispute the suspension of a special ed kid before the 10 day mark if they feel it is unjust or an impact of their disability.

So, can they be suspended, YES. If the child has been suspended for more than a total of 10 days for the school year, then a Special Education meeting must be held examining the issues.

Of note, even days when a child is sent home early but not officially suspended should be included as part of those 10 days.

 

[bookwormde]

Yes Children with an IEP can be suspended or expelled. As said there has to be a manifestation determination (by the IEP team) and if the “issue” related to a manifestation the “situation" is turned over to the IEP team to work on what is best to meet the needs of the child. This may include a suspension or expulsion but this is quite rare when a manifestation is involved unless there is a weapon involved. If it is not a manifestation issue standard disciplinary practices apply unless there is some general modification in the IEP. Either way if the child is suspended or expelled the district must make arrangements for home schooling including all the supports that were in place at school with in very short period of time (3 or 5 days I think).

By the limited information we have on this case it is pretty clear that this was a manifestation and the school made a very serious violation of federal IDEA regulation.

If there is a “pattern” this type of unwillingness to abide by IDEA (such as not wanting the child in the school “since day 1”) the parent should call the state department of education and talk to the state IDEA compliance individual and if they can not resolve the situation directly the parent should file a formal complaint.

bookwormde

 

[PrincessMom4]

This sounds all too familiar. Until recently we didn't have a diagnosised that seemed to work and ended results were meds were not the right ones. My child has been suspended so many times (and is now in a special needs school) I lost count. We have been working very hard with the school and our own outside resources (ie,psychologists, neurologists, counsellors, etc) and we have just come up with a diagnosis after 5years of hard, tireless efforts. Now I am now sure how it is for where you live, but we live in Ontario (Canada) so we have a fair number of resources available. The principal at the school she will return to has praised us so grateful for the all the hard work and excellent communication that we've done. Our child has an IEP (Individual Education Plan) which sets out his/her needs and how we are to approach teaching our child. The entire school board now (I think partially related to my child) has put in a safety plan. They have what's called a "cool-out" spot where the child goes when they feel their are about to "lose it". If they get it back together then they can kindly return to their classroom withOUT incident. We have a "safety squad" (particular for my child) that if he/she does not follow the said rules and procedures (very simple and easy to follow plus the kids have it in front of them in case they forget) then mom or dad will be called. I feel (and its only an opinion/feeling) that a non-physical (ones that you can't see) disabilities are the most challenging and misundertood ones out there. People think your child looks "normal" so there is nothing wrong-maybe you are not parenting them correctly. My other 3 children (even my 2year old) are well behaved.

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you all for your replies-you are all so helpful!

I think the answer about the suspension may depend on state dept. of ed regs.........but I would check Wrightslaw and do some research on federal law.

The thing that struck me immediately, though, about this post is this: why is the child playing on a playground that is not secured with a fence? Where do your state laws/school regs stand on this?

I am not aware of state laws about a fence? The child is a 3rd grader in an elementary school. The recess area is a blacktop and a large field. There is a fence that separates the field from the woods, but I believe that's it. It is a decent sized school district and I think all of the elementary schools have similar playground formats.

Yes Children with an IEP can be suspended or expelled. As said there has to be a manifestation determination (by the IEP team) and if the “issue” related to a manifestation the “situation" is turned over to the IEP team to work on what is best to meet the needs of the child. This may include a suspension or expulsion but this is quite rare when a manifestation is involved unless there is a weapon involved. If it is not a manifestation issue standard disciplinary practices apply unless there is some general modification in the IEP. Either way if the child is suspended or expelled the district must make arrangements for home schooling including all the supports that were in place at school with in very short period of time (3 or 5 days I think).

By the limited information we have on this case it is pretty clear that this was a manifestation and the school made a very serious violation of federal IDEA regulation.

If there is a “pattern” this type of unwillingness to abide by IDEA (such as not wanting the child in the school “since day 1”) the parent should call the state department of education and talk to the state IDEA compliance individual and if they can not resolve the situation directly the parent should file a formal complaint.

bookwormde

Unfortunately, the team did not get to be involved in the decision for a 5 day suspension. The principal made the decision without asking us or even informing the teacher (the teacher was informed via email). The child has been suspended on 2-3 other occassions this year (all in one day increments). The child has a well documented autism diagnosis, history of impulsiveness and poor safety awareness, is placed in a substantially separate classroom, and is on a behavior plan that he/she has been successfully responding to. I do want to emphasize that the child's TEAM adores this child. They have all been working diligently toward his/her progress and success in school and they are all proud of him/her and on board to continue working toward his/her success. It is just the principal who is causing this trouble.

Going back to the suspension-do you mean the school system should have set up educational services for this child during the 5 day suspension? The child got nothing.

Unfortunately the parents are not very involved in their child's schooling & do not take much interest & do not seem interested in making any complaints.

At this point, I just do not want this child to be suspended anymore because it is causing great harm to his/her behaviors at school. When the principal stays out of it, he/she does very well. It's when the principal intervenes that we run into trouble.

 

[bookwormde]

If the cumulative days have been more than 5 my understanding is that the answer is yes.

It is the responsibility of the IEP team (or any member, actually all members) to make sure that IDEA is followed and the child’s needs are being met. If the IEP team fails to address this violation they are failing in there statutory duty. I know this is easier said than does when the offending person is the “boss” but sometimes it is needed. Someone needs to contact the district or state and put an end to this.

bookwormde

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

A child with special needs can be suspended for no more than 9 days cumulatively. On the 10th cumulative day a manifestation determination meeting must be held to determine if the behavior is due to the disability. If it is determined that it is, then the school must review the current behavior plan to ensure that it is being followed and/or make up a new one. If the behavior is not due to the child's disability, then the child can be suspended for 10 or more days.

While what the school did was not "right" (and I'm appalled they would do this), it was legal.

ETA: That is my understanding based on what I was taught in my Master's Classes, although the legal is always a bit fuzzy. We were always told to look to the process coordinators at our school whose job it is to know the law inside and out. I do know that we had a boy with Aspergers who had issues that he was being suspended for during the year. After one particularly nasty incident he reached his 10th day and they had the meeting. But up until then they determined it was legal to suspend him although one could certainly make the argument that his behavior was related to his disability.

 

[aristocatz]

A child with special needs can be suspended for no more than 9 days cumulatively. On the 10th cumulative day a manifestation determination meeting must be held to determine if the behavior is due to the disability. If it is determined that it is, then the school must review the current behavior plan to ensure that it is being followed and/or make up a new one. If the behavior is not due to the child's disability, then the child can be suspended for 10 or more days.

While what the school did was not "right" (and I'm appalled they would do this), it was legal.

ETA: That is my understanding based on what I was taught in my Master's Classes, although the legal is always a bit fuzzy. We were always told to look to the process coordinators at our school whose job it is to know the law inside and out. I do know that we had a boy with Aspergers who had issues that he was being suspended for during the year. After one particularly nasty incident he reached his 10th day and they had the meeting. But up until then they determined it was legal to suspend him although one could certainly make the argument that his behavior was related to his disability.

What makes me really angry about the whole thing is the child's behavior plan IS being followed. It was the subjective and non-team decision of the principal to suspend this child. I might add minor revisions to this child's behavior plan, but otherwise it is working overall. The child has bad days sometimes (or bad instances I should say-they do not last all day, they don't even last longer than 10 minutes). Those instances are getting less and less but I do not think they are ever going to go away completely. The behavior plan is being implemented and it is being followed. The principal is just making rash decisions without knowing the details.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I'm a bit confused. When this happens, do you have set protocol to follow? Even if 99% of the time everybody follows the plan, if the principal is making rash decisions without input like that, it sounds like in this situation the plan is not being followed. I'm assuming it's not in the behavior plan to suspend the student for stunts like these.

 

[aristocatz]

I'm a bit confused. When this happens, do you have set protocol to follow? Even if 99% of the time everybody follows the plan, if the principal is making rash decisions without input like that, it sounds like in this situation the plan is not being followed. I'm assuming it's not in the behavior plan to suspend the student for stunts like these.

As mentioned above the incident that led to the 5 day suspension was NOT a target behavior in this child's behavior plan. The child got sidetracked by watching a bird and ran off. The child has never done this before. & the suspension was a ridiculous consequence for this child because he/she did not comprehend that he was being sent home as a punishment

The principal has suspended this child in the past this year (1 day suspensions) for target behaviors that ARE intervened on in this child's plan (tantrums). The suspensions were unwarranted, as the staff was following the child's plan at that time. Still, the principal decided to suspend the child anyways.

Suspension is NOT listed in this child's behavior plan. We want to manage the behavior in school as much as possible, as the FBA showed that this child engages in tantrums as a method of escaping. The last thing we want to do is reinforce the behavior by sending the child home. The principal made these decisions without considering the team and that is where I am frustrated.