Code of Maine Rules › 05 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › 071 - EDUCATION - GENERAL › Chapter 101 - MAINE UNIFIED SPECIAL EDUCATION REGULATION BIRTH TO AGE TWENTY-TWO › Section 071-101-XVII - DISCIPLINE OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1.
Authority of School Personnel [34 CFR 300.530]
A. Case-by-case Determination
School personnel may consider any unique circumstances on a
				  case-by- case basis when determining whether a change in placement, consistent
				  with the other requirements of this section, is appropriate for a child with a
				  disability who violates a code of student conduct.
B. General
(1) School personnel under this section may
				remove a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct from
				his or her current placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational
				setting, another setting, or suspension, for not more than 10 consecutive
				school days (to the extent those alternatives are applied to children without
				disabilities), and for additional removals of not more than 10 consecutive
				school days in that same school year for separate incidents of misconduct (as
				long as those removals do not constitute a change of placement under
				§300.536).
(2) After a child
				with a disability has been removed from his or her current placement for 10
				school days in the same school year, during any subsequent days of removal the
				public agency must provide services to the extent required under paragraph (D)
				of this section.
C.
				Additional Authority
For disciplinary changes in placement that would exceed 10
				  consecutive school days, if the behavior that gave rise to the violation of the
				  school code is determined not to be a manifestation of the child's disability
				  pursuant to paragraph (E) of this section, school personnel may apply the
				  relevant disciplinary procedures to children with disabilities in the same
				  manner and for the same duration as the procedures would be applied to children
				  without disabilities, except as provided in paragraph (D) of this
				  section.
D. Services
(1) A child with a disability who is removed
				from the child's current placement pursuant to paragraphs (C), or (G) of this
				section must
(a) Continue to receive
				educational services, as provided in §300.101(a), so as to enable the
				child to continue to participate in the general education curriculum, although
				in another setting, and to progress toward meeting the goals set out in the
				child's IEP; and
(b) Receive, as
				appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment, and behavioral intervention
				services and modifications, that are designed to address the behavior violation
				so that it does not recur.
(2) The services required by paragraph
				(D)(1), (D)(3), (D)(4), and (D) (5) of this section may be provided in an
				interim alternative educational setting.
(3) A public agency is only required to
				provide services during periods of removal to a child with a disability who has
				been removed from his or her current placement for 10 school days or less in
				that school year, if it provides services to a child without disabilities who
				is similarly removed.
(4) After a
				child with a disability has been removed from his or her current placement for
				10 school days in the same school year, if the current removal is for not more
				than 10 consecutive school days and is not a change of placement under
				§300.536, school personnel, in consultation with at least one of the
				child's teachers, determine the extent to which services are needed, as
				provided in §300.101(a), so as to enable the child to continue to
				participate in the general education curriculum, although in another setting,
				and to progress toward meeting the goals set out in the child's IEP.
(5) If the removal is a change of placement
				under §300.536, the child's IEP Team determines appropriate services under
				paragraph (D)(1) of this section.
E. Manifestation Determination
(1) Within 10 school days of any decision to
				change the placement of a child with a disability because of a violation of a
				code of student conduct, the SAU, the parent, and relevant members of the
				child's IEP Team (as determined by the parent and the SAU) must review all
				relevant information in the student's file, including the child's IEP, any
				teacher observations, and any relevant information provided by the parents to
				determine-
(a) If the conduct in question was
				caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, the child's
				disability; or
(b) If the conduct
				in question was the direct result of the SAU's failure to implement the
				IEP.
(2) The conduct must
				be determined to be a manifestation of the child's disability if the SAU, the
				parent, and relevant members of the child's IEP Team determine that a condition
				in either paragraph (E)(1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section was met.
(3) If the SAU, the parent, and relevant
				members of the child's IEP Team determine the condition described in paragraph
				(E)(1)(b) of this section was met, the SAU must take immediate steps to remedy
				those deficiencies.
F.
				Determination that Behavior Was a Manifestation
If the SAU, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP Team
				  make the determination that the conduct was a manifestation of the child's
				  disability, the IEP Team must-
(1)
				Either-
(a) Conduct a functional behavioral
				assessment, unless the SAU had conducted a functional behavioral assessment
				before the behavior that resulted in the change of placement occurred, and
				implement a behavioral intervention plan for the child; or
(b) If a behavioral intervention plan already
				has been developed, review the behavioral intervention plan, and modify it, as
				necessary, to address the behavior; and
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (G) of
				this section, return the child to the placement from which the child was
				removed, unless the parent and the SAU agree to a change of placement as part
				of the modification of the behavioral intervention plan.
G. Special Circumstances
School personnel may remove a student to an interim
				  alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days without regard
				  to whether the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the child's
				  disability, if the child-
(1) Carries
				a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on school premises, or to or at a
				school function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or an SAU;
(2) Knowingly possesses or uses illegal
				drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance, while at
				school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of
				an SEA or an SAU; or
(3) Has
				inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school
				premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of an SEA or an
				SAU.
H. Notification
On the date on which the decision is made to make a removal
				  that constitutes a change of placement of a child with a disability because of
				  a violation of a code of student conduct, the SAU must notify the parents of
				  that decision, and provide the parents the procedural safeguards notice
				  described in §300.504.
(1)
				Definitions
(a) For purposes of this section,
				the following definitions apply:
(i)
				Controlled substance means a drug or other substance identified under schedules
				I, II, III, IV, or V in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act
				(21 U.S.C.
				812(c)).
(ii) Illegal drug means a controlled
				substance; but does not include a controlled substance that is legally
				possessed or used under the supervision of a licensed health-care professional
				or that is legally possessed or used under any other authority under that Act
				or under any other provision of Federal law.
(iii) Serious bodily injury has the meaning
				given the term serious bodily injury under paragraph (3) of subsection (H) of
				section 1365 of title 18, United States Code.
(iv) Weapon has the meaning given the term
				dangerous weapon under paragraph (2) of the first subsection (G) of section 930
				of title 18, United States Code. (Authority:
				20 U.S.C.
				1415(k)(1) and
				(7))