DISCIPLINING A 504 STUDENT | Administrative Guideline Manual

5605A - DISCIPLINING A 504 STUDENT

If a student disabled under Section 504 violates the Code of Conduct and is subject to suspension of more than ten (10) days and has been provided notice of expulsion, a meeting of the student's 504 Team will be convened to determine whether or not there is a causal relationship between the behavior and the disability. A causal relationship exists when the conduct in question is caused by or has a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s disability.

When a student with a Section 504 plan is suspended for more than ten (10) non-consecutive days in a school year, the District will determine whether the series of removals is a pattern of removal and, therefore, a significant change of placement requiring a review of the relationship between the conduct and the student’s disability. In determining whether a series of suspensions each shorter than ten (10) days has resulted in the aggregate in a pattern of removal (and, therefore, a significant change of placement), the District will consider whether the child's behavior is substantially similar to the child's behavior in previous incidents that resulted in removals, the length of each removal, the proximity in time of the removals to one another, and the total amount of time the child is excluded from school. The District will make this determination on a case-by-case basis, and will notify the parents of their right to challenge the determination through an impartial due process hearing that conforms with the procedural requirements of 34 C.F.R. 104.36.

Prior to such a meeting, the principal shall ensure that a recent evaluation (not more than one (1) year old) is available for use by the Team to help them determine causal relationship. If no recent evaluation is available, then one is to be completed prior to the conference.

If the 504 Team determines that there is no causal relationship between the behavior and the disability, the disabled student may be suspended or expelled using the procedure described in AG 5610 - Suspension/Expulsion of Nondisabled Students.

If the 504 Team establishes a causal relationship between the behavior and the disability, then the student may not be suspended for more than ten (10) days in a school year and may not be expelled.

Emergency removal of a 504 student from his/her current placement may take place through parental agreement to an interim placement or through injunctive relief from a court, when the current placement presents a substantial likelihood of resulting in injury to the student or others.