| Disciplining students with disabilities has been a controversial issue among school officials, parents, and other members of school communities for many years. Federal law guiding administrative practice is codified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA), a lengthy, cumbersome, and sometimes difficult to understand statute. School administrators often are unsure of the specifics of the law, and what they are required to do when disciplining disabled students.;In order to provide school officials with a useful and practical history of the disciplinary provisions of the IDEA, an extensive search was conducted examining litigation, statutes, legislative reports, law reviews, and other materials. Using standard legal research methodology, a comprehensive overview of relevant caselaw and statutes was developed. This information was then summarized in order to provide school officials with guidance in providing appropriate disciplinary consequences to students with disabilities while protecting the rights of those students. Particular attention was paid to proper courses of action when applying exclusionary discipline such as suspension or expulsion. |
