Role of FBA and BIP 

FBA: Functional Behavioral Assessment

• Process that gathers information and searches for an explanation for a child's behavior and misconduct 

BIP: Behavioral Intervention Plan

• A document that helps to address problem behaviors that interfere with a student's education and create an intervention plan 

Figure 7: A graphic to further explain FBA and BIP in the disciplinary process (Yell, 2019, p. 326).

Video 5: A brief video that further explains FBA and BIP (IEP Help, 2023).

Manifestation Determination

    Manifestation Determination is a meeting required under IDEA that takes place between a student's IEP team, parents, and the Local Education Agency (LEA) to determine whether or not a child's behavior was a direct result of their disability or if there was a failure to follow a student's IEP, in order to determine any disciplinary actions. A manifestation determination must take place when a disciplinary change of placement occurs. 

Disciplinary change of placement includes:

• removal of a student from an educational setting for more than 10 consecutive school days
• removal of a student from an educational setting for more than 15 school days cumulatively
• when 11-15 days show a pattern of exclusion
• exclusion of a student with a disability for even one day

School personnel may remove the student to an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) for no more than 45 days, without determining whether or not the misconduct is related to the student's disability if that student is found with a weapon/drugs or causes serious bodily harm to another student or faculty member on school property. The student's parents must be notified of this situation (PaTTAN, 2023).

Questions the IEP Team must answer during a Manifestation Determination:

1. Was the behavior a direct or substantial result of the child's disability?
2. Was the behavior a direct result of failure to implement the child's IEP?

If the answer to either of these questions is YES, then it must be concluded that the behavior was a manifestation of the student's disability. 

In order for the IEP Team to answer these questions they must first consider:

• Does the student have a disability that impairs their judgment: do they understand that their behavior is wrong?
• Does the student experience emotional disturbance that has a direct relationship with their behavior?
• Does the student have a neurological impairment or medical condition that causes involuntary actions and do those actions have a relationship to their behavior?
• Does the student have a history of controlling the behavior in question? Is it difficult for them to control this behavior? 
•  Was the student in an escalated emotional state? Can they recall their actions?

• Was the student reasonably benefitting from their educational program?
• Were the student's communicational, instructional, and behavioral needs being addressed in their IEP?
• Is a positive behavior support plan being implemented?
• Review progress monitoring data/evaluations, classroom observations, and any teacher/parent/student/staff interview information
• Review related services, supports, and specially designed instructions. Were all necessary services available to the student?  (PaTTAN, 2024).

Short-Term & Long-Term Disciplinary Removal

 Short-Term Disciplinary Removal

 School officials are permitted to suspend students with disabilities or place them in an alternative education program on a short-term bases in the same way they would suspend or remove students without disabilities as authorized in IDEA. Removing a student with a disability immediately after a misconduct is a way to ensure the school is maintaining safety for all students. This removal may take place without intervention from the IEP team, however the student does still obtain their right to a due process hearing.

     There is no specific regulation in IDEA as to how many days a student with a disability may be suspended for. Students with disabilities may be suspended for up to ten consecutive days as long as that is the same expectation for students without disabilities. If a student with a disability's suspension equals up to 10 cumulative school days, the IEP Team must meet, conduct an FBA, and develop a BIP. Multiple suspensions may result in a change of programs. If a change is made, a written notice must be sent to the child's parents. 

   Schools are required to provide the student with educational services if the suspension is longer than 10 days in order for the student to:

1. progress in the general ed. curriculum
2. receive any of their related services
3. advance toward IEP goals

Long-Term Disciplinary Removal 

   Both long-term suspension and expulsion qualify as a change in placement for students with disabilities. Schools may remove students with disabilities for up to 45 days in the case that they possess drugs/weapons or cause severe bodily harm to others on school grounds (Yell, 2019, p. 328). An IEP Team does not need to be involved in the decision for removal in these cases. All students obtain their rights to a due process hearing. Parents must receive written notice in the case of long-term disciplinary removal. 

Figure 8: What qualifies for Long-Term Discipline (Yell, 2019, p.238).

Provision of Educational Services during Short- and Long-Term Disciplinary Removal

Provisions during Short-Term Disciplinary Removal

• Suspensions that add up to less than 10 cumulative days of school do not require the provision of educational services for a      student with disabilities unless they were provide to a nondisabled student with the same number of suspended days.
• Suspensions that add up to more than 10 cumulative days of school require the provision of educational services for students with disabilities.
• If a student with disabilities missed any educational services after a suspension of more than 10 cumulative school days, the educational session need to be made up in order to satisfy FAPE.

Provisions during Long-Term Disciplinary Removal

• Suspensions of students with disabilities for 45 days or more will require considerable provisions of educational services.
• The educational services do not need to duplicate the learning planned in the IEP because it would be impossible to replicate experiences such as a science lab or an orchestra rehearsal in an interim alternative educational setting.
• This requirement applies to students whose misbehavior is not caused by disability and also students with disability who have committed an offense related to weapons, drugs and bodily harm (Center for Parent Information and Resources, 2021) .  

Change in Educational Placement

     What constitutes a change in placement? First of all, the term placement sounds like it means a location, but it also includes the services described in the IEP, such as occupational therapy or counseling (Lee, n.d.).  Then, a change in placement, as defined by Yell (2019), is a change in educational program that substantially or significantly affects the delivery of education to the student.  The words "substantially" and "significantly" allow room for judgment in this determination. When it is a matter of counting the number of cumulative days that a student with a disability is excluded from the educational setting due to a suspension is can be an easier case to make.  However, other details such as patterns of suspensions can require more consideration to be determined a change in placement. For example, when the behavior of a student being disciplined is substantially similar to the student’s behavior in previous incidents that resulted in a series of removals it can be considered a change of placement (Center for Parent Information and Resources, 2021).

Disciplinary Removal for 45 Days

      The IDEA will allow a student with a disability to be unilaterally removed from the educational setting without a manifestation determination if the student:  (a) brings, possesses, or acquires a weapon at school, on school premises, or at a school function (e.g., school dances, class trips, extracurricular activities); (b) knowingly possesses, uses, or sells illegal drugs, or sells a controlled substance at school, on school premises, or at a school function; or (c) has inflicted serious bodily injury to another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function.  In the case where a student with a disability has not committed any of the above acts but is considered at a serious risk of harming self or others, the school personnel may ask an impartial hearing officer to grant an injunction to remove the student from the school (Yell, p.332).  

Expulsion from the Home School

     In the case of an expulsion from the home school due to a weapon, drug or injury violation, a student with a disability which was determined to not be related to the misbehavior still has the right to receive educational services. Because the home setting can be considered overly restrictive, home schooling may violate FAPE.  In contrast, an IAES may be a more appropriate setting for a student with a disability in this situation to continue to receive educational benefit. It must be reiterated that expulsion would be illegal for a student whose IEP determined a causal relationship between the student's behavior and the school violation (Yell, p.340).