Legal Requirements relating to Shortening a School Day for a Student with an IEPby Daniel Parker, Assistant Director of Special Education, WI DPI Each year the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction receives numerous questions from parents, school districts, and other stakeholders about the permissibility and requirements around shortening a school day for a student who is receiving special education services. Shortening a student’s day raises issues regarding the provision of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as potential discrimination under 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. To address questions relating to shortening a student’s school day, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction issued Information Update Bulletin 14.03: Shortened School Day. This article contains language, excerpts, and information directly from Bulletin 14.03. Students who receive special education services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) have the same rights to access public education as students who do not receive special education services. This includes the right to attend a full day of school as per Wisconsin’s compulsory school law. Thus, students who receive special education through an IEP must attend school for the same number of hours and minutes as non-disabled students, unless a student’s IEP team determines otherwise based on a student’s unique, disability-related needs. The only time it is appropriate to shorten the school day for a student with a disability is when the student’s IEP team determines a shortened day is required to address the student’s unique disability-related needs. For example, if because of the student’s medical needs, the student is physically unable to tolerate a full school day, a shortened day may be appropriate. Before deciding to shorten the student’s day, the IEP team must consider if there are other ways to meet the student’s needs, including providing additional supports and services. When a student’s school day is shortened, the IEP team must meet to discuss this decision and documentation of the following must be included in the student’s IEP:
When a school day is shortened, school districts, through the IEP team process, should continuously monitor and review the student’s progress and plan frequent IEP team meetings to determine whether a shortened school day continues to be necessary to meet the student’s unique, disability-related needs. To appropriately monitor a student receiving a shortened school day, the IEP team must meet more frequently than once a year, and as often as necessary to review the plan and to determine when the student is able to return to school full-time. The student should return to a full day as soon as he or she is able, and under most circumstances, a shortened day should be in place for only a limited amount of time In addition to the documentation and decision making requirements above, there are situations and conditions when shortening a school day is not permitted including:
A school district may not reduce a student’s instructional time as a form of punishment or in lieu of a suspension or an expulsion. In addition, a school district may not require a student to “earn” back the return to a longer or full school day by demonstrating good behavior. Attendance may also not be conditioned upon the student’s taking medication or receiving treatment, therapies, or other outside services. When student behavior is a concern, the IEP team must develop an IEP that addresses the student’s individual behavioral needs through annual goals, related services, and supplementary aides and services and the IEP must document and provide positive behavioral interventions, supports and strategies. IEP teams are encouraged to utilize WI DPI’s CCR IEP Five Step Process that emphasizes root cause analysis to determine “why” a student has difficulty meeting the behavioral expectations in the school. In addition, a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) may be required to fully assess student behavior and develop a behavioral intervention plan. More information including an FBA toolkit for IEP teams can be found on the FBA page of the WI DPI web site. School administrators must keep in mind that shortening a student’s school day is a high stakes decision that can dramatically reduce a student’s access to the instruction they need to be prepared for college, career, and living in their community. Shortening a school day must be an individualized decision based on the student’s unique disability-related needs that takes place at an IEP team meeting and includes input from the parent. When disagreements occur, parents have several dispute resolution options available if they disagree with a decision of a school. These options include requesting mediation through the Wisconsin Special Education Mediation System (WSEMS), filing an IDEA state complaint, and requesting a Due Process Hearing. For more information on dispute resolution options, see the WI DPI dispute resolution options web page or flier. Resources from WI DPI
This article contains language, excerpts, and information taken directly from Information Update Bulletin 14.03: Shortened School Day, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, December 2014, https://dpi.wi.gov/sped/laws-procedures-bulletins/bulletins/14-03 Read more at:
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