School & Education

A school cannot expel a student with a disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. without first holding a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR). This meeting must be held within 10 days after the incident. An MDR must also be held any time a school suspends a student for more than 10 days total in one school year. So, an MDR is required before a child with a disability can be expelled, but also after several suspensions that add up to 10 days total in one school year. 

MDR meetings

An MDR meeting is required for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or Section 504 Plans. A student is also entitled to an MDR if the school knows about their disability but has been refusing to give them an IEP or is in the process of evaluating them for an IEP. Learn more about the discipline rights of students receiving special education services. 

The team who created the student's IEP or 504 Plan should attend the meeting. An MDR is not a discipline meeting. People who are not part of the IEP team, such as deans or security guards, should not attend. The IEP team must decide whether the student’s behavior had something to do with their disability.

• The student's conduct was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, their disability, or
• The student's conduct was a direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP.

If you are a parent, you should attend this meeting. You should present any information that shows your child's disability caused the behavior. You may use a therapist or doctor's testimony Evidence given orally by witnesses . They can call into the MDR, or you can bring a letter from them that explains the connection between the behavior and your child's disability. 

• The information that you present,
• The information in the student’s file, and
• The teachers’ observations of your child.

If the IEP team finds that your child's disability caused the behavior, the school cannot expel your child. Also, the IEP team has to either: 

• Conduct an assessment of your child's behavior (called a Functional Behavioral Assessment or FBA) and implement a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), or
• If your child already has a BIP, change the BIP as necessary.

If the IEP team finds your child's disability did not cause the behavior and the behavior was not related to the school's failure to implement the IEP or 504 Plan, you can appeal A request to change a court's decision the decision. To appeal, you must ask for an expedited due process hearing. View this Discipline, Manifestation Determination and Expedited Due Process Timeline for a summary of this process.

You may choose not to appeal the MDR decision. Or, you might appeal and lose. If the school still wants to expel your child, they must send you written notice that they intend to hold an expulsion hearing. Learn more about MDR meetings.  

Expulsion hearings

At the expulsion hearing, you will discuss your child’s behavior and you can advocate for your child. An expulsion hearing is the same for students with and without disabilities. Both sides are allowed to testify To answer questions under oath and present information and evidence Anything used to show that something is true . 

Public schools must send you a notice of the expulsion hearing. This must be in writing by certified or registered mail. The notice must say the time and place of the hearing and include a description of the behavioral incident. It must tell you that you have a right to be represented by a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice . Use our Get Legal Help tool to find lawyers that take school expulsion cases. 

Learn more about expulsion hearings. 

Charter schools are public schools and must follow all of the same laws explained above. 

Interim alternative educational settings

A school can move a student with a disability to an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) for up to 45 school days. The school can do this regardless of the outcome of the MDR. This means that even if the behavior is directly related to the child's disability, or even if the behavior was a result of the school's failure to implement the IEP or 504 Plan, the school can still place the child in an IAES for 45 days. But this can only happen if a student does any of the following while at school, on school premises, or at a school function:

• Has a weapon,
• Has, uses, or sells illegal drugs, or
• Physically injures someone in a severe way.

A student with a disability in an IAES still has the right to a free, appropriate public education. Their IEP must still be implemented in the IAES. The student also has to be able to participate in the general education curriculum. The student also has to work on meeting the goals in the IEP. The placement Cases in which youth are removed from their homes and placed elsewhere must include services to address the student's behavioral needs.

If you disagree with the school’s decision to place your child in an alternative school, you can request an expedited due process hearing. The expedited hearing must begin within 20 school days of your request. The hearing officer must make their decision within 10 school days after the hearing. Until a decision is made, your child will stay at the alternative school. Learn more about expedited due process hearing timelines and going to a due process hearing generally.