Behavior
If a student’s behavior keeps interrupting his or her learning or the learning of other students, the school district and parents should work together to understand the reason for the behavior and plan ways to help the student learn more appropriate ways of behaving.
One way of doing this is for the IEP team to develop a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP).
A BIP is a tool that can help to
• understand the meaning or function of behavior.
• understand what may be causing the behavior to happen.
• understand ways to change the environment to support the student’s needs
• Plan how to teach the student appropriate behavior.
The first step in developing a good behavioral plan is to conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA).
The FBA is a process to improve understanding of problems or unwanted behavior in order to identify what skills need to be taught and how to develop an effective behavioral plan. The process includes observation, interviews, and data collection to identify when, where, and why the behavior is occurring.
To learn how to ask for an FBA from your district, please reference the Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois “THE PARENT GUIDE” page 75
Discipline
If your child faces school discipline, it’s helpful to understand the overall process.
When students break rules, schools have the authority to discipline them. This is because public schools must maintain a safe, orderly learning environment. When it comes to school discipline, all students have some basic rights.
They have the right to know beforehand what the rules are.
They have the right to challenge accusations and prove innocence.
In some states, students who are suspended have the right to instruction at home.
In addition to these rights, students with IEPs and 504 plans have extra protections.
These protections aren’t an excuse for breaking rules. They simply help everyone understand the cause of misbehavior. And they require schools to try to reduce misbehavior and prevent it from happening again.
Andrew M.I Lee School discipline: What are the rights of kids with IEPs and 504 plans?
Information directly quoted from Understood.org. To read the full article, please click on the button below:
