School Discipline Guide

Minnesota Students with Disabilities - Parent Information

1 – Introduction
2 – Begin the Discipline Guide
- 3 – On IEP and the discipline is?
  - 4 – Recess detention
  - 5 – Removal from class
  - 6 – Sent home before the end of the school day
  - 7 – Restraint or removal from school by a peace officer
  - 8 – In-school suspension
  - 9 – Suspension from the bus
    - 10 – IEP includes transportation
    - 11 – IEP does not include transportation
  - 12 – Out-of-school suspension
    - 13 – Up to five days
    - 14 – More than five days
    - 15 – More than 10 consecutive school days or more than 10 total school days for this school year
      - 16 – Manifestation determination meeting required
        
        17 – Manifestation determination meeting outcome
        
        18 – YES to at least one question
        
        19 – Conduct DID involve a weapon, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury
        
        20 – Conduct did NOT involve a weapon, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury
        
        21 – NO to both questions
        
        22 – Conduct DID involve a weapon, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury
        
        23 – Conduct did NOT involve a weapon, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury
      - 24 – NO manifestation determination meeting required
  - 25 – Expulsion or exclusion
    - 26 – Manifestation determination meeting outcome
      - 27 – YES to at least one question
        
        28 – Conduct DID involve a weapon, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury
        
        29 – Conduct did NOT involve a weapon, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury
      - 30 – NO to both questions
        
        31 – School board expulsion or exclusion hearing
        
        32 – School board decision is to expel or exclude your child from the district
        
        33 – Appealing a school board expulsion or exclusion decision
        
        34 – Withdrawing your child from the school district
  - 35 – Concerns about the school not following required discipline procedures
36 – Conclusion
Definitions

Sent home before the end of the school day

Parents need to know:

Under the PFDA,* when the school administration sends a student who has an IEP* home early from school this counts as a partial day of suspension if the student does not receive the regular or special education instruction that they would have received during the part of the school day that they miss.

However, the school is not required to provide the student or the parent with written notice of the grounds for suspension if the dismissal is for one school day or less.¹

Next steps:

If you are called by a school administrator and instructed to pick up your child before the end of the school day due to a behavioral incident your child was involved in at school or concerns about your child struggling to regulate their behaviors at school, you could follow up with your child’s IEP case manager to request:

A detailed explanation in writing of the behavioral incident that occurred or the school’s concerns about your child’s behaviors that resulted in calling you to pick up your child from school early
Documentation of how much regular education class time and special education services your child missed after you picked them up from school
A phone call to talk about what happened and address any concerns you may have about how your child’s needs are supported at school

Behavior is a form of communication. If you have concerns about what your child is communicating through the behaviors that led to getting sent home early from school, you may request an IEP team meeting at any time to discuss your concerns and possible ways that your child’s behavioral struggles could be addressed in their IEP.²

It’s also important to keep track of how many days this school year your child has been sent home early from school when those dismissals count as a partial day of suspension PLUS any other days of out-of-school suspension or other disciplinary removals* your child has been issued. If you’re not sure what that number is, you could reach out to your child’s IEP case manager for support or contact a PACER advocate.

If the total number has NOT yet reached more than 10 school days this school year:

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If the total number HAS reached more than 10 school days this school year:

The school must determine whether your child has been subjected to a pattern of removals that constitute a disciplinary change of placement* by considering:

If the behavior of your child which resulted in the most recent suspension is very similar to your child’s behavior which resulted in previous suspensions in the current school year
Other factors such as the length of each suspension, the total amount of time your child has been suspended, and how close the suspensions are to each other in time³

If the school DOES determine that your child has been subjected to a series of removals that constitute a disciplinary change of placement, then a manifestation determination meeting* with you and relevant members of your child’s IEP team must be held within 10 school days of making this determination.⁴

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If the school determines that your child has NOT been subjected to a series of removals that constitute a disciplinary change of placement, then relevant members of your child’s IEP team, including at least one of their teachers, must meet as soon as possible but no more than 10 days after the 10th cumulative day of suspension for this school year.⁵

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Minnesota Statutes and IDEA Regulations
1 - Minn. Stat. § 121A.43(b).
2 - 34 C.F.R. § 300.324(b).
3 - 34 C.F.R. § 300.536(a)(2).
4 - 34 C.F.R. § 300.530(e).
5 - Minn. Stat. § 121A.43(a).

* - definitions

This resource is made possible with funding from the Minnesota Department of Education.