Author: Laura Benjamin
Law Trainee at Project HEAL at Kennedy Krieger Institute
The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) governs special education law in the United States. The IDEA guarantees students with a qualifying disability a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The IDEA also provides additional protection for students eligible for special education and related services. One of these protections involves the suspension or expulsion of a student with a disability. When a student with a disability is removed from their educational placement for more than 10 school days in an academic year, the local education agency (LEA) must conduct a manifestation determination review (MDR) meeting. An MDR determines whether the behavior leading to the student’s removal was substantially or directly related to their disability. If it is determined that the behavior was directly or substantially related to that child’s disability, then the team cannot change the student’s placement and must return them to school immediately absent special circumstances.
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