Evaluation and Reevaluation in Discipline Decisions
Continue the federal Section 504 discipline guidance with particular attention to evaluations required before a disciplinary action results in a significant change in placement.
Supporting Students with Disabilities and Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Student Discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Open Required Reading →- When discipline triggers an evaluation requirement
- What counts as a significant change in placement
- How patterns of shorter removals are analyzed
- What information the Section 504 team should consider
- Why the timing of the evaluation matters
Details Hidden in the Evaluation Rules
The evaluation requirements in disciplinary situations contain several details that are easy to miss if teams focus only on a simple “10-day rule.”
“Manifestation determination” is guidance terminology under Section 504.
Section 504 regulations require an evaluation before a significant change in placement. The regulations themselves do not use the term “manifestation determination.” OCR uses that phrase in the guidance to describe this particular disciplinary evaluation.
Ten days is not only about one long suspension.
More than 10 consecutive school days can constitute a significant change in placement, but a series of shorter, nonconsecutive removals may also do so when they create a pattern.
Patterns are not determined by arithmetic alone.
OCR identifies multiple factors relevant to whether shorter removals form a pattern, including the length of each removal, the proximity of the removals to one another, the total amount of time removed, and the nature of the behavior underlying the incidents.
The evaluation must occur before the significant change is implemented.
A school should not first implement a disciplinary removal that constitutes a significant change in placement and then conduct the required evaluation afterward. In some situations, the school may need to expedite the evaluation process.
The team must use information from a variety of sources.
The team needs information sufficient to determine whether the behavior is based on the student's disability. Relevant information may include prior evaluations, the student's plan, teacher observations, parent information, behavioral data, and other relevant records.
The information must be documented and carefully considered.
It is not enough for relevant information to simply exist somewhere in the student's file. The decision-making group must actually consider the information used in reaching the determination.
A procedural failure may require more than simply completing the evaluation late.
If a school implements a significant disciplinary change in placement without first completing the required evaluation, OCR explains that the school must correct the Section 504 violation and address the effects of that failure. Depending on the circumstances, remedies can include compensatory services.
The school is considering a disciplinary removal that may constitute a significant change in placement. Sort each item into the category that best describes its role in the team's analysis.
Behavior Evidence
Information describing the conduct and its context.
Disability & Support Evidence
Information connecting the behavior to disability-related needs.
Removal Pattern Evidence
Information relevant to whether discipline changes placement.
Click a card, then click the category where you want to place it.
Match each situation with the Section 504 principle that is most directly implicated.
A school is considering discipline that may significantly change the placement of a student receiving Section 504 services.
Put the steps below into the most defensible order.
Apply What You Learned
Analyze the situation below using the evaluation and reevaluation principles from this lesson. Support your recommendation with the information the team would need to consider.
Prioritizing Evaluation Before Disciplinary Changes
Strong decision-making requires teams to monitor removal patterns, gather information from multiple sources, examine the relationship between behavior and disability, and complete required evaluation procedures before implementing a significant disciplinary change.