Discipline and Behavior: Top 5 IDEA Myths

There are a lot of myths out there about discipline or punishment and the individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA).  Most of the myths suggest that the IDEA prevents schools from disciplining or punishing students with disabilities.  Here are my top 5 IDEA myths related to discipline, punishment, and behavior.

Myth 1:  IDEA doesn't allow students with disabilities to be punished for bad behavior.

Ridiculous.  IDEA doesn't affect most types of discipline except to say that you can only discipline students with disabilities to the same extent and in the same manner that students without disabilities are punished.  To do otherwise is discriminatory.  There are only two situations in which discipline is affected by IDEA:  when the discipline involves a long term suspension or when the behavior impedes learning.  In the latter case, the punishment isn't affected, the school simply has to also act to address the behavior such as through positive behavior supports.  Detention, extra work, sending the student to the office--pretty much all of the standard punishments--are unaffected by IDEA.

Myth 2:  IDEA doesn't allow schools to suspend students with disabilities.

Nonsense.  IDEA allows schools to suspend a student with a disability for up to 10 days without triggering any special protections or inquiries.  As mentioned before, it is only long-term suspensions that are different.

Myth 3:  You can't discipline or punish a child with a disability if the behavior is caused by the disability.

You'd think this would be true since it seems pretty unfair to punish a child for a behavior that they can't control (that is a manifestation of their disability), but it's a myth.  A manifestation determination only comes into play if there is . . . you guessed it . . . a long-term suspension.  IDEA allows schools flexibility here, because the legislature recognized that consequences can be an important part of addressing a student's disability related behavior needs.  IDEA does, thankfully, allow schools to take into account the student's disability in determining disciplinary action.  So, one would hope that schools use this flexibility to provide a more equitable approach to disciplining a student whose behavior is not entirely under their control.  One that is calculated to improve the behavior would be best. Arguably, if a student's behavior is caused by the child's disability, it represents one of the student's disability related needs and should be addressed (at least in some way) in the student's IEP.

Myth 4:  IDEA discipline provisions only protect students who have already qualified for special education.

Just because a student hasn't been found eligible for IDEA--i.e. hasn't been evaluated--doesn't necessarily mean the student doesn't have a disability or doesn't qualify for the protections offered by IDEA's discipline provisions.  A student (or parent) can claim IDEA protections if (a) their child does have a disability and (b) the school "had knowledge" about the disability before the behavior occurred.  The schools is considered to "have knowledge" of the disability if the parent or school personnel expressed concerns about the student having a disability or requested an evaluation.  Of course, if the parent refused to consent to an evaluation or the child is evaluated and found not to have a disability--the IDEA discipline provisions don't apply.

Myth 5:  It is reverse discrimination to not punish students with disabilities the same as other children.

Ok, in some very limited situations, this might be somewhat true (although it is hard to come up with an example)--but that's why IDEA's disciplinary default is the same treatment rule.  All things considered, the impact of discipline on students with disabilities--particularly when it takes away from time in instruction--is often going to be greater than it will be on other students.  Students with disabilities are also more commonly exposed to negative treatment from other students that can lead to behavior issues even in the most well-behaved of children.  Add to that the fact that some behaviors are only going to be partially under the control of some students with disabilities and that students with intellectual disabilities may lack necessary understanding of the rules (but will still be subject to them), and it's pretty clear that the system is still weighted against students who have disabilities.  More than anything else, IDEA provides school personnel the ability to balance out these inequities and thereby give students with disabilities a chance to receive the benefits of our education system to which all children are, or should be, entitled.