Jessica: My daughter has an IEP and was subsequently moved to a different school to be placed in an EBD classroom. She was doing well and didn’t have many issues until her teacher resigned unexpectedly, and has since begun to display more behavioral issues. I have received more phone calls in the last few weeks than I ever previously received with the old teacher, and she is now suspended. Is it right for my child to be suspended if she is supposed to be in a self contained classroom? Does this mean that the new staff is ill-equipped in dealing with her behavioral issues? Please help. -Concerned parent
Jessica, I don’t have a copy of your daughter’s file so I’m limited in the advice I can offer. You write that your daughter has an IEP. This means she has additional protections through the IDEA. The school can suspend her but there are limits to the number of days and what they need to do to ensure that she receive a FAPE.
Has the school completed a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) on your daughter? Does she have a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)? Suggest that you write a note to your child’s team about her worsening behavior and your concerns. Request an IEP meeting to address these issues so they don’t have to suspend her.
I’m not sure if she has had an FBA, but I know they used a private psychological report that we submitted, and she has been administered a DAS-2, DAB-3, and GORT-5, not sure if these are the equivalent of an FBA. She does have a BIP according to her IEP, but I’m not sure what specific measures are in place or if they’re being implemented. I will definitely be reaching out to them for more in depth information. Should all options of the BIP be exhausted before a suspension, or is that just something that is individually based on school policy/preference?
Thanks for your suggestions!