All District of Columbia (DC) schools from K-12 to universities have policies and procedures to ensure their students' safety and academic integrity. Policies and procedures are often written for the average student and fail to consider students with disabilities or mental health issues. Schools often have to delicately balance the needs of students with disabilities with making sure all students are treated fairly and held to the same safety and academic standards. Rarely are school administrators and decision-makers adequately trained in working with students with disabilities, no less taking their protections and accommodations into consideration during the disciplinary process.
If you or your child is a student facing misconduct charges, you cannot fight these charges alone. Your institution deals with misconduct daily but not necessarily with students with disabilities, and not always with the student's best interest in mind. District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is often understaffed and overwhelmed, meaning they just want the issue to go away as fast as possible with as minimal effort as required. DC's universities are some of the most prestigious in the nation, and they are more concerned about their reputation than your child's rights and needs.
At the Lento Law Firm, our Student Defense Team frequently works with DC students with disabilities who are facing misconduct charges. We always put your child first and will relentlessly fight these institutions to ensure the misconduct charges are addressed fairly, given your child's disability. Call the Student Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
The Disciplinary Process for K-12 Students with Disabilities
All students, even those with disabilities, can face disciplinary action for misconduct in school. Students with disabilities make up about 18 percent of all DC students, but they account for almost 30 percent of disciplinary actionsinvolving suspension and expulsion. This statistic is concerning and means that as a parent of a student with a disability, you must be vigilant to ensure they are being treated fairly and by the law by their school.
While all students have protections in the disciplinary action process in their K-12 schools, special education students have additional protections and required procedures. Each school will have its own disciplinary policies, and as a parent of a student with disabilities, you should become familiar with this document early on. When you know the policies, you will be aware when your child's school is treating your child differently or being biased against them because of their disabilities. Every school should have its discipline policies publicly available on its website, which applies to both public and charter schools.
Important Terms for K-12 Disciplinary Action
It is important to understand what disciplinary action means in your DCPS. The following terms are defined by DC law and are used in all DC schools.
- Disciplinary unenrollment
- Emergency removal
- Exclusion
- Expulsion
- In-school suspension
- Involuntary dismissal
- Involuntary transfer
- Out-of-school suspension
- School-based intervention
Because DCPS uses so many terms, many of which sound similar, things can get confusing. But your Lento Law Firm attorney will walk you through the nuances and differences between different types of suspensions, expulsions, and your child's rights in your case.
What Misconduct Could Result in My Child Facing School Discipline?
Many forms of misconduct, from minor to severe, can result in your child facing disciplinary action. Problematic conduct can include, but is not limited to:
- Academic dishonestly
- Disruptive behavior
- Insubordination
- Truancy
- Harassment
- Sexual Harassment
- Robbery or theft
- Fighting
- Battery
- Minor physical altercation
- Threatening students or staff
- Weapons use or possession
What are My Child's Rights Regarding Disciplinary Action?
In 2018, DC passed the Student Fair Access to School Amendment Act. This law set stricter standards for school discipline; under the new requirements, schools must limit the number and length of school suspensions, expulsions, and disciplinary unenrollment.
As a student with a disability, your child has additional protections. Your child cannot face suspension or expulsion without the school holding a manifestation determination review meeting (MDR). Within ten days of the school proposing a change in your child's placement, the school must hold an MDR. Your child's IEP or 504 Team will meet to do a few things:
- Review your child's evaluation, diagnosis results, and educational plan
- Decide if your child's alleged misconduct is related to their disability
- Decide if your child's alleged misconduct was caused by their school failing to provide required services or comply with your child's educational plan
When the school has failed to comply with your child's education plan, they must be permitted back in school. When there is a failure on the school's part, and your child's misconduct is directly related to their disability, their IEP or 504 Team will need to conduct a Functional Behavior assessment and implement a Behavior Intervention Plan (or modify it if a plan is already in place). Your child's IEP or 504 Team may decide there is no issue with suspending your child, and the school may proceed with the suspension.
If your child with a disability is enrolled in a DCPS school, they have further protections. Your child cannot be suspended unless all the following requirements have been met:
- The IEP, 504, or other educational plan and school placement were appropriate considering their disability
- The school has followed with your child's educational plan and placement
- Your child's disability did not prevent them from understanding their actions or the consequences
- Your child's disability did not impair their ability to control their behavior
When Do Additional Procedural Protections Apply for Students with Disabilities?
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), students with disabilities are entitled to additional procedural protections during the disciplinary action process. Schools are required to comply with additional procedural protections in a variety of situations, including:
- When a student with a disability is facing expulsion
- If the school wants to suspend a child with a disability for more than ten days
- If the student with a disability has been subject to removals that total more than ten days in a single school year
- Removals or patterns of removals that total more than ten days and are considered a change in the student's placement related to discipline (as opposed to academic reasons)
My Child Has Been Suspended, Now What?
If your child has a disability, they are entitled to support throughout their suspension that is not provided for the general student population. Students with disabilities have the right to continue working towards the goals of their IEP while under suspension. Your child's IEP must decide on an appropriate setting and get that setting in place before your child is suspended if the suspension is more than ten days.
You also have the right to file a Due Process Complaint requesting your child be allowed back at school. While your complaint is underway, your child's school must continue providing their educational services in a setting the IEP Team deems appropriate.
Can the School Suspend or Remove My Child without Affording them Additional Protections?
There are special circumstances in which your child is not entitled to additional protections before suspension or transfer to another educational institution for up to 45 days. Only under the following special circumstances will your child lose their special protections:
- They possess a weapon on school property
- They possess, use, or sell drugs at school
- They have inflicted serious bodily injury to another at school
The Disciplinary Process for College and University Students with Disabilities
Misconduct and disciplinary action in colleges and universities are very different from those in K-12 education. Unlike K-12 education, where physical altercations, truancy, and disruptions are common causes for disciplinary action, in college, disciplinary action tends to be related to academic and sexual misconduct. Both of these types of misconduct are taken incredibly seriously by academic institutions and will likely result in investigations and hearings.
Academic Misconduct
A significant portion of college students have some form of disability requiring accommodations, including ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety disorder. When so many students face these struggles, colleges and universities should be well-versed in working with these students, but unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Even if you have accommodations in place, specific professors are not always receptive or compliant. Using accommodations during class or exams that make learning with your disability easier can sometimes result in allegations of cheating or other academic misconduct. When your academic institution is holding you to a different standard and facing a charge of academic misconduct, you have rights.
When an academic misconduct charge is brought against you, you should immediately notify your school's disability services office and a student defense attorney. While the disability services office is there to help, they ultimately work for the school; your Lento Law Firm student defense attorney works for you and will always put your needs above all.
Sexual Misconduct
Sexual misconduct allegations are handled under Title IX coordinators. (Title IX is the law protecting students from sexual harassment at educational institutions.) Regarding sexual misconduct charges, your college or university may not understand how your disability factors into the charges against you or your rights in the disciplinary process. They may think, what does anxiety or needing more time on exams have to do with sexual misconduct? However, thinking this way overlooks the underlying disabilities that impact a student's judgment and ability to understand social cues.
Of course, all legitimate cases of sexual misconduct should result in punishment; all victims deserve justice, but there is a difference between misunderstandings and legitimate claims. If your school doesn't understand your disability, a miscommunication between you and another person may land you with an unfair decision following a sexual misconduct charge.
Students with disabilities or mental health diagnoses may face false sexual misconduct accusations for a whole host of reasons, including:
- Students may have more difficulty appropriately assessing social or sexual situations
- Students may have social or behavioral issues that have not been sufficiently addressed in therapies or treatments
- Students may be experiencing unintended side effects of psychiatric prescription medication that impact their judgment or behavior
- Implicit or explicit bias against students with disabilities
- Pressure for schools to automatically side with the alleged victims for fear of community and public backlash
The Disciplinary Process
You have the right to a hearing if your college or university is pursuing disciplinary action against you. Further, you have the right to have disability accommodations during your hearing if necessary. If your school doesn't ask you about accommodating your needs during the disciplinary process, you need to tell them what you need. Asking for what you need can be intimidating, but the Lento Law Firm ensures you aren't pushed around. Accommodations you may be entitled to during the disciplinary process include:
- Allowing you to provide testimony in a manner appropriate for you, whether it be written or oral
- Pausing or taking breaks during the hearing
- Holding the hearing or meetings in a less stressful environment than may be conventional
- Having an educational aide or other person attend meetings or hearings with you to provide logistical and emotional support
Defense Against Misconduct Charges for Students with Disabilities
Whether a K-12 or college student, when you're accused of misconduct, you need a seasoned student defense attorney on your side. The Lento Law Firm has fought for the rights of countless DC students with disabilities facing charges of misconduct. Our Student Defense Team knows all the relevant laws and regulations surrounding disability rights in education and won't let a school district or college deny you or your child their rights. Your Lento Law Firm attorney will walk you through the disciplinary process and your options and prepare the strongest defense for your case. To get started, call us today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.
