On April 10, 2024, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue is whether the district, during the 2023-24 school year, properly developed the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability to address the student’s behavioral needs.
School districts must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability by developing a program that meets the student’s unique needs, documenting that program in the student’s IEP, and implementing the program as articulated. 34 CFR § 300.324. IEP teams must consider whether the student’s behavior impedes their learning or that of others. If so, the IEP team must document the student’s behavioral needs and include positive behavioral interventions and supports to address those needs in the student’s IEP. 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2). These supports may include specially designed instruction, related services, or supplementary aids and services. 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2)(i); Wis. Stat. § 115.787(3)(b)(1).
The complainant, who is a community therapist, raised concerns regarding how the student was being treated by peers and how the district responded to the student taking steps to get a reaction out of teachers. The IEP in effect for the student who is the subject of this complaint at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year was developed on April 19, 2023. The student’s IEP team met to conduct an annual IEP review on April 16, 2024.
The April 2023 IEP describes the student’s behavioral concerns, including attention seeking behavior, adding vulgar content to an online program, and making inappropriate comments to gain peer attention. At the time of that meeting, the student’s parent was concerned about the student’s attention seeking behavior at home which was similar to the student’s behavior at school.
The April 2024 IEP describes improvements to the student’s behavior and the parent had “no major concerns” at the time of the meeting. While the April 2024 IEP indicates the student’s behavior improved over the previous year, it also included some of the student’s inappropriate attention seeking behaviors. The IEP addressed these concerns by developing positive behavioral supports including check in/check out, support of special education staff in general education classes, and specially designed instruction in social skills, behavior development, and attention strategies.
The April 2023 and April 2024 IEPs address the student’s behavioral needs and the student’s parent did not express any concerns at the April 2024 IEP team meeting. The district properly developed the student’s IEP to address the student’s behavioral needs.
This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.
For questions about this information, contact dpispeddata@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-1781