Opinion ID: 2830308
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Behavioral Assessment

Text: The parents’ second procedural argument is that the District’s handling of Drew’s behavioral needs amounted to a substantive denial of a FAPE. Specifically, they criticize (1) the District’s failure to conduct a functional behavior assessment (FBA) before implementing a behavior plan for Drew, and (2) even absent the FBA, the District’s failure to put in place an appropriate -11- behavioral intervention plan (BIP) to address Drew’s increasing behavioral issues. 4 Drew exhibited multiple behaviors that inhibited his ability to access learning in the classroom. In the past, he has climbed over furniture and other students, hit things, screamed, ran away from school, and twice removed his clothing and gone to the bathroom on the floor of the classroom. Drew’s second and fourth grade IEPs contained behavior plans (although they are somewhat ambiguously marked “draft”). These plans identified some of Drew’s problem behaviors and possible ways to manage and reduce those behaviors. The school was also in regular contact with the parents regarding Drew’s behavior. Despite the school’s prior attempts to manage his behavior, during Drew’s fourth-grade year his behaviors increased to such a degree that the school decided to go back to the drawing board and rework their approach. Drew’s special education teacher kept notes on, and anecdotal data of, Drew’s behavior in an effort to pinpoint Drew’s triggers. The District also scheduled an autism specialist and a behavioral specialist to come in and meet with Drew’s IEP team 4 An FBA “identif[ies] the purpose—and more specifically the function—of problem behaviors by investigating the preexisting environmental factors that have served the purpose of these behaviors.” Perry A. Zirkel, Case Law for Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans: An Empirical Analysis, 35 Seattle U. L. Rev. 175, 175 (2011). FBAs are often completed prior to and become the basis of a student’s BIP, which is the “concrete plan of action for reducing problem behaviors.” Id. -12- to put a new behavioral plan in place. The parents did not attend the meeting as they pulled Drew from the District before its scheduled date. Drew’s mother testified that the escalation of Drew’s behavior left them with what they felt was one choice—to place Drew in a different learning environment. But as a matter of procedure, the District did not violate any provision of the IDEA or its implementing regulations. The Act provides that in developing and revising a student’s IEP, the IEP team must, “in the case of a child whose behavior impedes the child’s learning or that of others, consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies, to address that behavior.” 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(3)(B)(i); see also 34 C.F.R. § 300.324(a)(2)(i). The requirement is merely to “consider the use” of the listed behavioral interventions. See Perry A. Zirkel, Case Law for Functional Behavior Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans: An Empirical Analysis, 35 Seattle L.R. 175, 186 (2011) (noting the operant verb is “to consider,” and not “to develop or implement”). The statute only requires school districts (and even then, only “as appropriate”) to conduct an FBA or to implement a behavioral plan if there is a disciplinary change in placement of the student. 5 See 20 U.S.C. 5 State law often goes further than the IDEA with respect to when FBAs and BIPs are required. See, e.g., T.M. ex rel. A.M. v. Cornwall Cent. Sch. Dist., 752 F.3d 145, 169 (2d Cir. 2014) (“New York state regulations go beyond this floor set by the IDEA; they require a school district to conduct a full FBA for a student who exhibits behavior that impedes learning, and to develop a BIP to address that behavior.”). And school districts must comply with state educational (continued...) -13- § 1415(k)(1)(D)(ii) (“A child with a disability who is removed from the child’s current placement . . . shall . . . receive, as appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment, behavioral intervention services and modifications, that are designed to address the behavior violation so that it does not recur.”); see also Park Hill Sch. Dist. v. Dass, 655 F.3d 762, 766 (8th Cir. 2011) (“The IDEA only requires that an IEP include . . . a ‘behavioral intervention plan’ in limited circumstances not present in this case.”); Lessard v. Wilton-Lyndeborough Coop. Sch. Dist., 518 F.3d 18, 25 (1st Cir. 2008) (“The IDEA only requires a behavioral plan when certain disciplinary actions are taken against a disabled child.”); Alex R. ex rel. Beth R. v. Forrestville Valley Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. #221, 375 F.3d 603, 614 (7th Cir. 2004); Susan C. Bon & Allan G. Osborne, Jr., Does the Failure to Conduct an FBA or Develop a BIP Result in a Denial of a FAPE Under the IDEA?, 307 Educ. L. Rep. 581, 581 (2014). And even where an FBA or BIP is required, the IDEA does not impose any substantive requirements as to what they must include. Bon & Osborne, supra, at 583. Drew was never subject to a disciplinary change in placement. Thus, even though the record establishes that Drew is “a child whose behavior impedes the child’s learning or that of others” all that was required by the Act was for the 5 (...continued) standards that are not inconsistent with federal standards. See O’Toole, 144 F.3d at 698. Drew and his parents make no argument based on Colorado law and we do not consider it. -14- District to “consider” behavioral intervention. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d)(3)(B)(i). The record is filled with examples of the District’s consideration of Drew’s behavioral issues. Thus, the District complied with federal law. See R.P. ex rel. R.P. v. Alamo Heights Indep. Sch. Dist., 703 F.3d 801, 813 (5th Cir. 2012) (finding the school district complied with federal law where the district considered behavioral interventions and the child had not been removed from her placement due to disciplinary infractions); Lessard, 518 F.3d at 26 (same). In sum, we find no procedural defect that amounted to a denial of a FAPE.