“Alyssa is having a really tough day and needs you to come pick her up so he can start fresh tomorrow.”
This type of call home is a tool that some schools use regularly as a classroom management strategy. Instead of addressing a student’s disruptive behavior and teaching them to be successful in the classroom environment, schools simply remove the child from the school. These requests seem benign to many parents and play on their trust of the school system, embarrassment that their child’s behaviors are challenging, and a desire to work collaboratively with the school.
What many parents do not realize, however, is that there are only two valid reasons that a school may single out students for early dismissal: illness or suspension.
Formal Versus Informal Suspensions
When a child is sent home for disciplinary reasons but not as a documented suspension, they miss out on time in the classroom and are not entitled to the disciplinary protections that they would receive through the formal suspension process. Schools sometimes offer to keep a suspension off the books if a parent voluntarily removes their child from school for the day. There are a few potential problems with this practice:
- There are strict rules about what types of behaviors can warrant a suspension. Sometimes, the school will informally suspend a student because their behavior cannot legally be the cause of a suspension.
- Disruptive behavior is a signal that a student needs additional supports. Occasionally, a student really is just having a bad day and needs a reset. More typically, however, students are informally suspended for chronic behaviors that need evidence-based school intervention so that the student may build the skills they need to be successful. A formal suspension flags a student for additional support and triggers legal requirements for proactive interventions.
Students in Special Education
If a student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan, they have additional protections when it comes to discipline. In particular, they have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Removing a student from school because of their behavior without putting into place other less restrictive supports and disciplinary measures may be considered a denial of FAPE, which is a violation of federal law.
Additionally, when a student is removed (formally or informally) from the classroom for a period of time totaling ten school days, that is considered a change of placement and the family is entitled to a meeting with the special education team. Those ten days may either be consecutive or the result of a pattern of removals for the same behavior. This meeting is called a manifestation determination review (MDR). During an MDR, the team will determine whether the problematic behaviors that led to removal are caused by the student’s disability. If so, the team will have to rethink the student’s supports at school so that they are more effective. They may consider, for example, new related services or a behavior intervention plan (BIP).
While early and proactive behavioral intervention is helpful for all students, students who receive special education services have a special right to them. The Department of Education has previously indicated that these should be considered even if the ten-day threshold for an MDR has not yet been reached.
In-School Suspensions
Sometimes, schools will choose to remove a student from the classroom and place them in in-school suspension. In some schools, this might look like a regular school day but in a separate setting with intensive support and an extra restorative component. In others, it means sitting in detention all day. If the school fails to continue implementing an IEP or 504 Plan during an in-school suspension, that student has been excluded from school and is entitled to protections.
What Parents Can Do
A parent who gets the call to pick their child up for an informal suspension once may just decide to go pick their child up. For some families who receive such calls home, however, they are called for early dismissals on a regular basis. Not only does this disrupt the parent’s schedule and add up to lots of lost learning time for the student, but it also means that the school is not trying the in-school options that they are required to use to help the student learn new behaviors and be successful in the classroom.
If a parent is repeatedly being asked to pick up their child from school for disciplinary reasons but with no formal suspension, they should take action to protect their child’s educational rights.
Protecting student rights starts with documentation. The family can document requests to pick up their child from school early for disciplinary reasons including what occurred, what the school did, what the family did, and how much class time was missed as a result. If possible, the family should also document how often their child is being removed from the classroom for disciplinary reasons.
The family also has a right to receive paperwork documenting the suspension including the reason for disciplinary action. The paperwork should also include the student’s rights, including the right to an opportunity to share their side of the story if it different from the school’s account.
It is also worthwhile to check the school or district’s discipline protocols to ensure that they are being followed. For example, Chicago Public Schools has a Student Code of Conduct that specifies that students may not be sent home for disciplinary reasons without a suspension letter. It also dictates exactly what discipline options are available to the school for various infractions including whether suspension is appropriate, what criteria must be met for a suspension, and how long it may be depending on the offense.
If the student has an IEP or 504 Plan, the family should request a meeting with the team to discuss behavioral concerns. If the student is being removed from the classroom regularly, they may need additional supports or a behavior intervention plan (BIP) to be successful at school without needing to be removed.
If the student does not have an IEP or 504 Plan, they may benefit from one if they are consistently struggling with behaviors that cause them to be removed from the classroom. The first step is to request a full individual evaluation so that the student’s needs can be assessed. If such a request is made when the student is removed from school for disciplinary reasons, federal law requires the school to expedite the evaluation.
While informal suspensions may not seem like a big deal and may correspond to a real behavioral issue, students who are repeatedly suspended informally miss out on the legal protections and supports they would be entitled to if the suspension had been documented. Parents can safeguard against this by following the steps detailed above and proactively requesting supports that keep their child in the classroom and learning.
Joyce Harduvel is a law student at Loyola University of Chicago Law School and a certified school social work specialist. She wrote this blog as part of the Education Law Practicum.
