On December 16, 2024, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (parent) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The identified issues are described below and pertain to the 2024-25 school year.
Whether the district properly developed and implemented the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability regarding behavior supports.
School districts must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability by developing an IEP that meets the student's unique needs and by implementing special education and related services in accordance with the student's IEP. 34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) & 300.324. In the case of a student whose behavior impedes the student's learning or that of others, districts must consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other strategies to address that behavior. 34 CFR § 300.324 (a)(2)(i). If a student displays inappropriate behavior despite having an IEP that includes behavioral supports, this may indicate that the behavioral supports in the IEP are not being appropriately implemented or the behavioral supports in the IEP are not appropriate for the student. It is critical that services and supports are designed to support the needs of children with disabilities and ensure FAPE are appropriately implemented to avoid an overreliance on or misuse of exclusionary discipline in response to a child’s behavior. In these situations, the IEP team would need to meet to review whether the supports and services are being implemented or whether the supports and services are effective and revise the IEP accordingly. The IEP team should also consider whether a functional behavioral assessment is necessary to better understand the function of the student's behavior. Questions and Answers: Addressing the Needs of Children with Disabilities and IDEA's Discipline Provisions, U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, July 19, 2022. Any time an IEP team determines a student’s behavior impedes the student’s learning or that of others, the IEP must consider positive behavioral interventions and supports to address the student’s behavior. 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).
During the 2024-25 school year, the student who is the subject of this complaint had IEPs developed at meetings on April 3, October 16, and December 3, 2024. The student’s IEPs indicate that their behavior impedes their learning or that of others and include a behavioral intervention plan (BIP). Additionally, the student’s IEP team conducted a manifestation determination review on December 3, 2024. The student’s parent, who filed this complaint, and the district acknowledge that the student’s behavioral supports were discussed at each of these meetings. A review of these IEPs and the student’s BIP show that the IEP team made revisions to the student’s behavioral supports at each of the IEP team meetings based on the student’s then current performance and needs.
The student’s parent raised concerns that district staff had not been consistently implementing the supports as written in the student’s IEP, citing behavioral incidents that have resulted in school staff contacting the parent to pick the student up during the school day. The student’s case manager demonstrated the process of ensuring staff are informed of their responsibilities under each student’s IEP at the beginning of each school year and any time any student’s IEP is revised by providing an IEP at-a-glance document highlighting their responsibilities. The case manager also keeps printed copies of students’ IEPs in two different binders that staff may access whenever they have questions. The student has one-to-one support throughout their school day. The district demonstrated that this support is provided primarily by two staff members and that the case manager interacts with these two staff members on a daily basis regarding the student. The district properly developed and implemented the IEP regarding behavior supports.
Whether the district properly held an IEP meeting to shorten the student’s school day.
School districts must provide each student with a disability a FAPE in the least restrictive environment (LRE). In Wisconsin, placements of students with disabilities must be determined by IEP teams in conformity with LRE requirements. Each student’s placement determination must be based on the student’s individual needs as specified in the IEP; be determined at least annually; be as close as possible to the student’s home; and, unless the student requires some other arrangement, in the school the student would attend if not disabled. The IEP team must document its placement decision, including its consideration of LRE, in the IEP. While the IEP team (which includes the student’s parents) must work toward consensus, the district is ultimately responsible for ensuring such decisions are made in conformity with the requirements of state and federal special education law to ensure the student receives a FAPE. IEPs must be reasonably calculated to enable each student to make appropriate progress in light of their circumstances. Wis. Stat. § 115.79; 34 CFR § 300.116; Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, 137 S.Ct. 988.
The student was suspended from school following a behavioral incident on Monday, November 18, 2024. The student received full day suspensions on November 19, 2024, and November 20, 2024. On November 20, 2024, the special education director spoke to the parent, and it was decided to allow the student to attend school from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until the student’s manifestation determination review occurred. District staff explained this was designed to support the student and limit the amount of education they would miss since they would otherwise have been suspended from school full days. The district considered the time the student was not at school as partial day suspensions. As such, this was not a shortened school day requiring a change of placement by the student’s IEP team. The student received services while at school consistent with their IEP. The district did not improperly shorten the student’s school day or otherwise change the student’s placement outside of an IEP team meeting.
Whether the district properly followed special education discipline procedures.
Federal special education law provides protections for students with disabilities who are subject to disciplinary changes in placement. A disciplinary change of placement occurs when a district removes a student's from school for more than 10 consecutive school days or when a series of removals constitutes a pattern because the removals total more than 10 school days in a school year, the behavior is substantially similar to the behavior in previous incidents, and if additional considerations such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the student has been removed, and close proximity of the removals to one another apply. 34 CFR §300.536(a). Within 10 school days of any decision to change the placement of a student with a disability because of a violation of a code of student conduct, the district must conduct a manifestation determination. 34 CFR §300.530, 34 CFR § 300.536.
Based on records submitted by the district, at the time this complaint was filed the student had been suspended from school for approximately five school days. On November 18, 2024, the student was initially suspended for two days for inappropriate conduct. However, after additional consideration, the district determined that the student’s conduct constituted an expellable offense. Once the district made that determination, they extended the student’s suspension and notified the student’s parent they were considering expulsion. They also scheduled a manifestation determination review given that the potential expulsion would be a removal of more than ten consecutive school days and therefore constitute a disciplinary change of placement. The manifestation review took place on December 3, 2024, which was within ten school days of the incident. The student’s IEP team determined that the conduct was a manifestation of the student’s disability. The student’s IEP team also reviewed the student’s behavior supports and BIP, discussed how the supports would continue to be implemented moving forward, and returned the student to their previous placement as written in the IEP. The district properly followed special education discipline procedures.
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