2019 Every Child Counts Symposium

The added layers of protection for students eligible for special education services requires that school districts carefully evaluate the effect of a child’s disability on that conduct. However, provisions in the IDEA also provide that students who are “not yet eligible” for special education services are entitled to the “same protection” in discipline as those already served with IEPs. Scant direction exists for school districts when a general education student violates a code of conduct and afterwards claims IDEA protections. This presentation will review the differing interpretations of this provision by the Office of Administrative Hearings and provide recommendations for general education disciplinary procedures that can limit complications from later claims that a student is “not yet eligible” for special education services.