Special education and IDEA?

Question

If a student is receiving special education services at school for depression and adhd along with conduct disorder would it be a violation under IDEA to punish the student for not staying on task, forgetting materials, not treating staff and students with respect and walking out of the room when he gets frustrated to "cool off". I just want to know if you feel it is a violation under IDEA individuals with disabilities act and why please. These negative actions are symptoms of his disability to the best of my knowledge so what is your opinion?

Answer 1

depend on what you mean by punish.. usually a teacher will and SHOULD talk over redirections alternatives when something like this happens. My son is autistic. I give them little ideas on what to suggest that may keep him interest.. also my son has 2 breaks during the day to walk around the building to get his self together sorta a sensory break....  but if it too much a distraction then the teacher should talk to the parents and if not corrected soon then ask the principal to transfer student to another class that would be better for him..

Answer 2

If the childs IEP plan specifically states that the school has to help the child with staying on task, forgetting materials, etc then YES they ARE violating IDEA law.

But if nothing is written on the IEP for the school to help with any of those problems, then no they are not violating IDEA.

Not even if child is in special ed for these reasons. The IEP plan is the only legal document the school is suppose to use to help the child, and if none of these problems are listed on it, then there is no proof the child even has these problems, so this gets the school off the hook and they don't have to help, and they won't be violating any laws.

The parents need to get the help the child needs with these issues written into the IEP plan, stating specifically waht the school is suppose to do to help with these things.

THEN if the school continues then YES the school will be violating IDEA law and the parents can take action against the school.

Answer 3

It is a violation to suspend a student if the student's behavior is due to the identified disability/disabilities. However, if the behavior is of a nature that violates other students rights or safety the school can discipline the student identified with a specific disability. However, there are required to provide instruction to the student.  Each case is different and there are various factors that are considered towards the decisions on the discipline/s implemented.  Each behavior may be handled differently.   You should have a behavior plan in place that governs the discipline of your behavior.  You must accept the fact that you can not behave wrongly without receiving the consequences.

Answer 4

Some of the things that you listed are violations of the IEP and some are not.

Violations of the IEP include:

*Punishment for off task

*Punishment for forgetting materials.

The school has a code of conduct that every student must obey. Disrespect and leaving the room are violations of this code. In terms of leaving the room, this is also a safety issue because an angry student is walking around the school unsupervised. What if he should leave campus and get hurt or killed?

This is a much more complicated problem than meets the eye. We have to consider many issues. More than likely, the behaviors of disrespect and leaving the room are caused by the punishment. This needs to be corrected immediately.

Here is what I would do. I would call for a new IEP meeting. First, make sure that the following accommodations are on the IEP:

*Assist with organization

*No penalty for losing materials or forgetting items.

*Allow extra time to complete assignments

*Allow extra time on tests

*Allow small group for test situations

*Provide quiet place for student to cool off

*Use quiet, firm voice tones when talking with student.

Next, have the team write a behavior intervention plan (BIP) for your son that includes reinforcement for doing the right thing and teaching replacement behaviors for the problem behavior.

Finally, request a Functional Behavior Assessment to find out the antecedent conditions that trigger the problem behaviors and the function or purpose of the behaviors. After this is done, the team will meet to write a second BIP which will take in account the information gained in the FBA. This is a must do!

Answer 5

Manifestation determinations are always difficult.  One of the things I like to do when we have to make these decisions is pull out the DSM-IV  and list the criteria for the disorders.  If the behavior is not directly related to one of those criteria, then I don't count it as a manifestation.  Yes, it may be secondary, but it's not a part of the diagnositic criteria.  

Whatever the cause for misbehavior, appropriate consequences need to be given, otherwise you have a behavioral mess on your hands (i.e. a child who thinks he's not responsible for anything he does).  Think about it, walked away from a police officer and was disrespectful, would the officer stop to check to see if he has a disability?  Heck no!  Having a disability doesn't necessarily explain every negative behavior someone has, and it certainly doesn't make it 'ok'.  

For the record, Conduct disorder is a tough one, because it's diagnosed based on behavior, not the *cause* of behavior like depression and ADHD.  A conduct disorder says he has made bad choices in the past, and will likely continue to make bad choices.  The best way to deal with him is ...  So that one I don't use in cases like this, because not giving them consequences definitely causes more problems.

In any case, it sounds like the team can help you develop a behavior plan that has firm consequences for negative behavior and rewards for positive behavior.  If he doesn't have behavioral goals on his IEP, it might be time.  A specified cooling off place may even be made  part of his IEP.  At my schools, kids have been given special passes to a designated person/place when the need arises.  It's worked out well unless the kid tries to take advantage of the situation.

You as a parent *do not* have to agree with the team's determination.  You may file due process and let the state sort it out.  I would advise going to your state's education site, going to the special ed section, and looking at due process cases they have listed (it may take some searching to find!)  This can give you an idea of how hearing officers in your state tend to work.

Answer 6

I personally think it is much more functional to walk out of class than to instigate a fight or worse if angered. Often kids with ED do NOT yet have that self control that others apparently expect them to have just picked up. Indeed, they have EDs because they are not capable of doing that and NEED to be taught by parents and by the school. It is something many functional adults do in arguments...to walk away until cooled off rather than escalating. It could be argued that by punishing him and not providing supports and rewards for good behavior, that the school is not promoting "upfront active measures" that will decrease behavioral problems. Wrightslaw website has the actual IDEA listed with commentary.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/howey/iep.spec...

As for legalities under IDEA

Look here

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.i...

More specifically at

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles...

quote

Does IDEA contain provisions that promote proactive up-front measures that will help prevent discipline problems?

Yes. Research has shown that if teachers and other school personnel have the knowledge and expertise to provide appropriate behavioral interventions, future behavior problems can be greatly diminished if not totally avoided. Appropriate staff development activities and improved pre-service training programs at the university level with emphasis in the area of early identification of reading and behavior problems and appropriate interventions can help to ensure that regular and special education teachers and other school personnel have the needed knowledge and skills.

Changes in the IDEA emphasize the need of State and local educational agencies to work to ensure that superintendents, principals, teachers and other school personnel are equipped with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to appropriately address behavior problems when they occur.

In addition, the IDEA includes provisions that focus on individual children. If a child has behavior problems that interfere with his or her learning or the learning of others, the IEP team must consider whether strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports are needed to address the behavior. If the IEP team determines that such services are needed, they must be added to the IEP and must be provided. The Department has supported a number of activities such as training institutes, conferences, clearinghouses and other technical assistance and research activities on this topic to help school personnel appropriately address behavioral concerns for children with disabilities.

unquote

Answer 7

Well if the student has ADHD and depression the student needs to learn how to stay on task and remember  to bring the materials.This is a way of teaching the child that just because he/she has a disability does not mean he/she can use that as an excuse not to follow rules, remembering to bring his/her stuff to school can motivate the child.And if the student has conduct disorder then the student needs to learn how to deal with his/hers frustration, instead of  walking out of the classroom, he/she is not learning how to confront the problem that caused his/hers frustration. So i don't think it is violating anything. If anything the teacher is trying to help the student how to coupe with his/hers condition. I know because my brother has the same thing. ADHD, depression, conduct disorder, and he has bipolar disorder.