Special Education Law 101: Manifestation Determination process explained and patterns of removal

Описание: In this video, I explain the Manifestation Determination process. It is a procedural safeguard for our kids.... supposed to be a safety net of institutional scrutiny after the institution (public schools) apply punishment that would result in a "change in placement" from what was developed by the IEP team. It is not intended nor should it be treated as some "get out of jail free" card (as this is an archaic way to look at behavior, as far too many view behaviors as requiring "consequence" or punishment through exacting a pound of flesh...specifically from those who work in government). The Disciplinary hearing does that.... the Manifestation Determination is a secondary, reasoned review of the nature of the child's disability and whether that had a substantial connection to the infraction. It is also an introspective review of whether the institution followed the IEP or not (this includes whether they had a functioning and appropriate Behavior plan in place and whether the District understood the functions of the child's behavior). If the school district didn't follow the basic rules in staff training on the behavior and didn't comply with the rules of IDEA or 504 then we don't blame the child with the disability but the adults who are supposed to be the experts... as there needs to be accountability on the adult side. In far too many instances, causation is overlooked or ignored.... had the infraction occurred had the staff followed the IEP and/or had sufficient training and understood the functions (triggers) of the behavior that contributed to the infraction? This is why it's important to remove the emotional connection to the infraction and have the maturity to analyze the action or inaction of the institution.

The second part of the video discusses "Patterns of Disciplinary Removals" and this is committed more than one would expect. It is when a school does not out-of-school suspend the student but will engage in "patterns of removal" from the learning environment designed by the IEP team.... could be in-school suspensions, after-school suspensions, silent lunch, no recess, etc.

In these situations, if the repeated punishments are for the same or similar behaviors then it can turn into a "pattern of disciplinary removals" and this can result in a "change in placement" and have the same negative result on the child by removing them from their learning environment. This creates a justification for the parent to advocate on behalf of their child.....