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How To: Understanding School Discipline

How To: Understanding School Discipline

Navigating school can be hard for children with disabilities or mental health concerns. From understanding class rules to checking impulses, making it through the school day can be difficult. When kids can’t meet expectations, they may be referred for school discipline. Some common forms of school discipline include:

Parent contact (for example, a parent phone call or letter home)
Losing privileges (such as being unable to attend assemblies or perform class jobs)
Reparative or restorative justice (for example, cleaning desks that were vandalized)
Losing free time (for example, being assigned after school detention)
Removals (including suspensions and expulsions)

This guide discusses the supports children sometimes receive to help manage or change behavior and what happens when students with disabilities are disciplined in ways that remove them from school.

What is "disability-based behavior?"

“Disability-based behaviors” are any behaviors that:

Are caused by a student’s disability
Have a substantial relationship to the student’s disability

According to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), public schools must provide support for students with disability-based behaviors.

Keep in mind that while students with disabilities or mental health concerns are not immune to school discipline, there are legal protections for disability-based behaviors. These protections prevent discrimination and ensure that students receive a free and appropriate education (FAPE).

Supports

The U.S. Department of Education recommends a “positive and proactive approach” to student behavior. The following supports use different types of interventions to help children manage or learn new behavior.

▸ Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

MTSS is a framework that helps schools support students who need it most. It uses data and measures to identify students. This framework looks at the whole child, including academics, behavior, social, emotional and development. Regular screening helps to identify students who are at risk.

MTSS has three tiers:

Tier 1: Whole Class: Students learn together and progress is checked regularly
Tier 2: Small Group: Students who are at risk continue to learn with peers but also receive small group instruction
Tier 3: Individual: Students who do not make progress at tier 2 receive intensive individual intervention.

At tier 1, students learn together and are regularly monitored for progress. If regular screening shows that a student is at risk, they are moved to tier 2. In tier 2, students receive small group instruction and have regular progress checks. Many students are able to catch up and return to tier 1 after a short time in tier 2.

When students don’t make enough progress in tier 2, the team may move them to tier 3. In tier 3, students receive intensive help. Sometimes schools use an IEP or 504 plan at tier 3, but there are many other ways to provide interventions too. For example, a student who has trouble at home may benefit from wrap-around support with a community mental health program.

Types of Students: Because MTSS has universal strategies, this support is used across the entire school.

▸ Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

PBIS is an evidence-based framework for preventing behavior problems. Like MTSS, PBIS has three tiers. It begins with universal strategies – like making sure that all students know basic behavior expectations. Children who continue to have behavior problems may receive small group support at tier 2 or individualized support at tier 3. For example, students at tier 2 might receive small-group instruction with a social skills program, like SuperFlex, while a student at tier 3 might have an individualized behavior plan to help learn new skills.

Types of Students: Like MTSS, a PBIS is typically used across the entire school.

▸ Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA)

When student behavior gets in the way of learning, school teams may use a FBA to help. The goal of a FBA is to discover the reason for a behavior. To do this, a school mental health professional observes the student and collects information about what happens before, during and after the behavior. After learning more about the role a behavior plays, the school team looks at supports to help the student manage or change their behavior (see Behavior Intervention Plan, below).

FBAs can be part of an evaluation for special education or they can be used separately to help understand a new behavior problem.

Types of Students: FBAs are typically used to support students with identified disabilities (students with an IEP or 504 plan). In rare cases, FBAs are used for non-disabled students with severe behavior problems (involvement with weapons, police, drugs, etc.)

▸ Behavior Improvement Plan (BIP)

After finding the reason for a behavior, schools will write a BIP. A BIP defines the behavior, gives the reason why the behavior happens and maps interventions. The interventions in a BIP map out how school staff will teach the student how to manage or change their behavior.

BIPs are the next step after a FBA (see Functional Behavioral Assessments, above), but schools are not required to complete a formal FBA first. In some cases, students may be able to give reasons for a behavior – or the reason for a behavior may be obvious.

Types of Students: BIPs are used for any student whose behavior gets in the way of learning (either their own learning or classmates).

What is an "intervention?"

Interventions are ways that teachers and support staff help children to learn and grow. Teachers use evidence-based interventions, which means that there is research to prove that the intervention helps children.

Teachers and other school professionals use many types of interventions. Some examples include using a consistent classroom routine, offering praise and rewards, using checklists or daily report cards or modeling.

Disciplinary Removals

In some cases, student behavior can become so challenging or disruptive that the student faces school removal. Disciplinary removals may include:

Parent/Guardian “Pick-Ups” (where caregivers are called to pick up a child after behavior or a rough day)
Suspensions
Expulsion

There are protections for students with IEPs and 504 plans when this happens. Before a school can complete a school removal for more than 10 days, they must complete a manifestation determination review.

Manifestation Determination Review (MDR)

When a student with a disability is faced with a suspension of more than 10 days or an expulsion, the school must complete a manifestation determination review. During this review, the school looks at whether the student’s behavior is directly related to their disability.

Outcome: Behavior IS Related to Disability

The school is blocked from suspending or expelling the student. The school team then completes an assessment to decide whether the current supports and placement are still appropriate.

Outcome: Behavior IS NOT Related to Disability

The school may discipline the student in the same way other students without disabilities are disciplined. Families can appeal this decision by following procedural safeguards.

What is a "significant change in placement?"

The U.S. Department of Education defines a “significant change in placement” as either:

Removal from class or school for more than 10 days OR
A series of removals from class or school that together total more than 10 school days in a school year and constitute a pattern of removal

In either case, accurate documentation must prove that the student has missed (or will miss) more than 10 days of school.

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