Change of Placement

Change of Placement for Disciplinary Reasons 

(Excludes Weapons, Drugs and/or Serious Bodily Injury) 

What is “placement”? If a student is receiving special education or related services under IDEA, a student’s placement is the educational setting that the IEP team determined is best for a student, and which is reflected in a student’s written IEP. Placement does not mean the room a student is in, but the program and services most appropriate for a student, as per the IEP. 

What is a “change of placement”? A change of placement occurs if: 

1.      The school removes a student from his educational placement for more than 10 consecutive schools days; or 

2.      The school removes a student from his educational placement on several occasions that add up to more than 10 school days that constitute a pattern of exclusion from school. 

What is “removal” from placement? Removal is taking the child out of his educational placement. It includes things such as sending the child to the principal’s office, sending the child to the hall, sending the child home, in-school suspension, suspending or expelling the child, suspending the child from the bus, etc. Remember, if it is written in the IEP, it is not a change of placement. 

What is a “pattern”? A pattern is a series of removals from the educational placement that are related because of factors such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the child is removed, how close the removals are to one another, or the reason for the removal. 

What are some examples of “change of placement”? If the school is proposing to expel a student, or to suspend a student for 11 days, that constitutes a change in placement. Also, if a student has been suspended or sent home for 10 days in the past few months for the same behavior and the school proposes to send a student home again for similar behavior that would be a change of placement because the removals would constitute a “pattern.”  

What rights does a child have if the school proposes to change my child’s placement?  Before the school can change a student’s placement, the IEP team must first hold a manifestation determination review. The general purpose of the manifestation determination review is for the IEP team to determine whether the behavior for which a student is being disciplined is directly related to his disability or if the school failed to implement the student’s IEP. If it is related or if they did fail to implement, then the school cannot proceed with the proposed change of placement.  

What services, if any, must the school provide a child with special needs during the change of placement? The school can remove a student from his educational placement for up to 10 days without having to hold a manifestation determination review. During these first 10 days, the school does not have to provide a student with regular education or special education and related services, unless it would provide those services to a non-disabled child in the same situation. However, once the school has changed a student’s placement, the school must provide a student with the services necessary to enable a student to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and advance towards goals set out in the IEP. A student must also be provided with a behavior plan to address the problems that got him in trouble at school so that it doesn’t happen again. If the school has not completed a functional behavioral assessment and developed a behavior intervention plan, the IEP team must do these things. If these things have already been done, the school must modify them if necessary.   

NOTE: Where behavioral and/or disciplinary issues cannot be safely addressed in any other educational setting, the IEP team may consider a homebound placement. Such changes in placement may be instituted strictly on an emergency basis and for a temporary period of time not to exceed thirty (30) school days to determine how to best address the child’s needs. The IEP team must document that a homebound placement is necessary, temporary, and consistent with requirements for the provision of a free appropriate public education.  A Special Populations Coordinator and behavior consultant must be invited to the IEP meeting if homebound is being proposed for behavioral or disciplinary issues.