States and districts are taking steps to ensure that “informal removals” — shortened school days to address behavior issues for students with disabilities, do not violate civil and educational rights, according to a report in Education Slice.
New state and local resources, including from Oregon, Illinois, and Chicago Public Schools, have come in the wake of 18-month-old discipline guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. That guidance raised the concern that frequent short-term removals of students with disabilities by administrators and staff could indicate a school is not following procedures under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
A January 2022 report from the National Disability Rights Network, an organization that advocates for people with disabilities, said it’s difficult to know how many informal removals are taking place due to ”off the books″ removals not included in reports to the public. The group, which is also a membership organization for the federally-mandated Protection and Advocacy Systems that provide legal representation and advocacy services for people with disabilities, said an informal poll of P&As in 2021 found that repeated and shortened school days to be one of their most common areas of focus concerning school discipline.
Education Slice
