Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Discipline Provisions in P.L. 105-17 (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Aug. 3, 2004 |
| Report Number |
98-42 |
| Authors |
Nancy Lee Jones, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are the most
comprehensive and significant changes made since its original enactment. Several of the most
important changes were made regarding the discipline of children with disabilities. Congress
attempted to strike "a careful balance between the LEA's (local educational
agency's) duty to ensure
that school environments are safe and conducive to learning for all children, including children with
disabilities, and the LEA's obligation to ensure that children with disabilities receive a free
appropriate public education."
Generally, the new provisions give schools increased flexibility for dealing with children with
disabilities who misbehave. A school may now place a child with a disability in an interim
alternative educational setting for not more than forty-five days if the student has been involved with
drugs or weapons (not just firearms as under previous law). An impartial hearing officer may order
a change in placement for a child with a disability to an interim alternative educational placement
for up to forty-five days if the hearing officer finds that the school has demonstrated by substantial
evidence that leaving the child in the current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to
the child or others. In addition, P.L. 105-17 codifies the previous interpretation by the Department
of Education that educational services may not cease for children with disabilities who have been
suspended or expelled. Final regulations, issued by the Department of Education on March 12, 1999,
elaborated upon these statutory requirements. This report examines both the statutory and regulatory
provisions relating to discipline as well as recent proposed amendments. It will be updated as
necessary.
