What Administrators Need to Know about Manifestation Determinations for Students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs)

By Tim Peerenboom and Eva Shaw, Wisconsin DPI

Introduction 

Administrators play a critical role in ensuring student discipline is implemented lawfully and fairly for students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) establishes procedures that apply when disciplining students with IEPs in order to protect children from being excluded from school due to their disability. WISEdata reporting indicates that during the 2023-2024 school year, students with disabilities were suspended or expelled at a rate more than triple the rate of their peers without disabilities. During that same school year, students with disabilities made up only 15.3% of the total enrollment, but they accounted for 23.5% of out of school suspensions and 22.5% of expulsions. 

Because students with disabilities are more vulnerable to experiencing exclusionary discipline, it is important that administrators understand their role, and the role of the IEP team in protecting students' rights to a Free Appropriate Public Education throughout the disciplinary process. One of the key steps in disciplinary proceedings involving students with disabilities is the Manifestation Determination. 

What Administrators Need to Know 

Fair discipline for a student with a disability begins with a comprehensive special education evaluation, ongoing collaboration, and progress monitoring that results in identifying the student’s strengths and educational needs and providing IEP services that meet those needs. IDEA requires that the IEP include positive behavioral interventions and other strategies to address behaviors that interfere with the student’s learning or the learning of others. A well written and implemented IEP can teach the skills and support the student’s needs in order to prevent exclusionary discipline in the first place. But like all children, students with disabilities will at times engage in behaviors that may lead to the consideration of disciplinary action.   

Students with IEPs are subject to the same disciplinary actions as all students for violating school codes of conduct, but IDEA protections apply when those disciplinary actions constitute a change of placement. 

Removals and Change of Placement

• A change of placement occurs when a student is removed for more than 10 consecutive school days or when a pattern of removals for substantially similar behaviors totals more than 10 cumulative school days. 

• Short-term removals of 10 or fewer school days may be imposed in the same manner as for students without disabilities, though it is a good idea for the IEP team to proactively meet and consider changes to the IEP, including the implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports, prior to reaching the 10 days of removal. 

• Once removals exceed 10 cumulative school days in a school year, the LEA must continue to provide educational services to enable the student to continue to participate in the general education curriculum and progress toward meeting IEP goals, although in another setting. 

When a disciplinary action would result in a change of placement, the school must conduct a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) within 10 school days of the decision to change placement. 

Manifestation Determination Review

• The MDR team includes representatives of the LEA, parent, and relevant members of the IEP team. 

• While the full IEP team is not required to conduct the MDR, it is best practice to include the entire IEP team because the outcome of the MDR often results in the team needing to make changes to the student’s IEP. 

• Additionally, the LEA cannot direct an IEP team to change a student’s placement. 

• Disciplinary changes of placement always require a manifestation determination review. 

In conducting the MDR, the team must address two key questions 

1) is the behavior that led to the proposed disciplinary action a result of or directly and substantially related to the student’s disability; or 

2) was the behavior a direct result of the Local Education Agency’s (LEA) failure to implement the IEP.  

If the behavior is a manifestation, the student must return to their prior placement unless the parent and school agree otherwise. The team must conduct a functional behavioral assessment, unless previously conducted, and develop or review a behavior intervention plan. If the behavior is not a manifestation, the student may be disciplined in the same manner as a student without a disability. Educational services must continue so the student can make progress in the general education curriculum and toward IEP goals. 

Summary 

Students with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to exclusionary discipline compared to their non-disabled peers. To ensure the student’s right to a Free Appropriate Public Education, LEAs and IEP teams must ensure that IEPs are designed to meet the student’s disability-related needs in order to reduce the use of exclusionary practices. Administrators need to carefully adhere to the IDEA disciplinary protections and ensure manifestation determinations are conducted properly 

For additional details and information related to the content of this article, refer to DPI’s 

• Information Update Bulletin 14.02 Manifestation Determination, 

• Information Update Bulletin 23.01 Providing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports to Students with Disabilities and Use of Functional Behavioral Assessments, and 

• DPI Functional Behavioral Assessment wepbage.