Behavior & Discipline

Students with disabilities should be expected to follow the code of conduct. A student with a disability, who has an individualized education plan in effect, can be removed to out of school suspension, another setting, or an appropriate interim alternative educational setting, just as any other student without a disability can, for up to a total 10 school days, for violations of the code of conduct or school rules. The 10 days can be consecutive or cumulative and can occur during one school year. It is not necessary for the plan team to meet when this occurs. Likewise, it is not necessary for a manifestation determination to be completed, a functional behavior assessment to be conducted, a behavior intervention plan to be developed, or for any special education services to be provided if the removal is for 10 or fewer school days in the school year.

When frequent disciplinary actions add up to more than 10 school days in a school year, or when frequent disciplinary actions clearly indicate a pattern that is a change in placement, the plan team must determine appropriate services that allow the student to continue to participate in the general education curriculum and progress toward meeting the goals outlined in the student’s individualized education plan, although in another setting.

After a student has been removed for 10 school days in the same school year, and a subsequent removal is not for more than 10 consecutive days and is not a change in placement, then the district personnel and at least one of the student’s teachers must determine the extent of services needed so the student can continue to participate in the general education curriculum and progress toward meeting the goals outlined in the student’s individualized education plan, although in another setting.

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 student’s individualized education plan team must meet to determine whether the conduct in question was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the student’s disability or whether the conduct was a result of the district’s failure to implement the student’s individualized education plan. These steps are referred to as a manifestation determination.

In making this determination, the district, the parent, and relevant members of the plan team (as determined by the parent and the district), will review the student's plan, the student's behavior intervention plan, any relevant teacher observations, and any other information provided by the parents.

If the plan team finds that the student’s behavior was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the student’s disability, or that the behavior was a direct result of the district’s failure to implement the individualized education plan, then the behavior is a manifestation of the student’s disability. In this case, if the student does not have a behavior intervention plan, the plan team must conduct a functional behavioral assessment and implement a behavior intervention plan to address the behavioral violation. If the student already has a behavior intervention plan that addresses the conduct in question, the plan team must review and modify it as necessary to address the behavior. The student must return to the placement from which the student was removed, unless the parent and the school district agree to a change of placement as part of the modification of the behavioral intervention plan. The school system does not have to return the student to the original placement if the student's behavior is related to weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury as explained below in special circumstances.

If the plan team finds that the student’s behavior was not a manifestation of the student’s disability, the same disciplinary actions can be imposed on the student with a disability as those imposed on any student. If these actions include expulsion, the plan team must determine how the student will continue to receive educational services that allow him or her to continue to participate in the general education curriculum and progress toward meeting the goals in the individualized education plan In addition, the plan team, if appropriate, will conduct a functional behavior assessment and develop a behavior intervention plan.

School personnel may remove a student to an interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the student's disability, if the student:

1. Carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia or Bulloch County Schools;
2. Knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance, while at school, on school premises, or to a school function under the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia or Bulloch County Schools; or
3. Has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia or Bulloch County Schools.

The interim alternative educational setting is determined by the individualized education plan team.