ATTENDANCE
Connecticut has a
set of guidelines
for excused and unexcused absences that districts are expected to follow. If a student
reaches a high level of absences the district is required to take action. This includes
sending notices home and in chronic truancy levels, it may include a call to DCF regarding
Educational Neglect on the part of the family for failure to get the child to school. It
is important that families are aware of the expectation to get your child to school. If
disability or chronic illness is preventing the student from attending then you must know
what type of documentation is needed for excused absences and to ensure the Planning and
Placement Team recognizes the impact of the absences and considers alternatives. Additional
Resources from the State Department of Education:
Truancy
Chronic absence and truancy are not interchangeable terms. They describe different aspects
of the absence problem and require different approaches. Truancy is a term that generally
refers to unexcused absences. Chronic absence, on the other hand, incorporates all absences:
excused, unexcused absences, and suspensions and expulsions served.
Chronic Absence
Good attendance is essential to student achievement! Research shows that absences add up
and that good attendance is essential to student achievement and graduation. Whereas, chronic
absence and truancy can be lead to school drop-out, academic failure and juvenile delinquency.
By removing barriers to attendance, districts, schools and community partners can improve
attendance.
RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION
There are laws in Connecticut regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. Additional resources and guidance from the State Department of Education:
- Understanding the Laws and Regulations Governing the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (2018)
- Parental Notification of the Laws Relating to Seclusion and Restraint in the Public Schools (2015)
- Guidance related to Recent Legislation Regarding Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (2015)
- Guidance related to legislation regarding restraint and seclusion in schools (2018)
SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION
Connecticut has laws
related to how suspensions and expulsions are supposed to be handled. In general, students
in second grade and below are not expected to ever be suspended out of school, except in
some extreme situations. All students are expected to serve their suspension in school unless
they have caused serious bodily harm or brought drugs or weapons to school. Additionally,
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act has specific processes for
students with disabilities who may face extended suspension or expulsion.
Disciplinary Procedures
Code of student conduct applies to all students, including special education students.
Unless an emergency exists, your child has the right to an informal hearing by the school
administration before being suspended or removed from his or her education program. Your
child should be informed of the reasons for the disciplinary action at this time and given
an opportunity to explain the situation.
Does my child have the right to receive educational services during a suspension
from school?
Removal of up to ten consecutive school days in any school year:
If your child has violated the school district's discipline code, he/she may be suspended for
a period not to exceed 10 consecutive school days. The length of the removal must be comparable
to the length of the removal that would be applied to nondisabled child who breaks the same rule.
The school district is not required to provide services if the removal does not exceed ten
consecutive school days in the same school year and if the school district does not provide
services to a nondisabled child who has been suspended from school for removals that do not
exceed 10consecutive school days in the same school year.
Removal of more than 10 school days in a school year: Change in Placement
If in the same school year, your child has been subjected to a series of short term removals
that add up to more than 10 school days in a school year, school personnel must decide whether
the removals constitute a change in placement. A change in placement occurs if:
- The removal is for more than 10 consecutive school days; or
- The child has been subjected to a series of removals that constitute a pattern:
- The series of removals total more than ten school days in a school year;
- The child's behavior is substantially similar to the child's behavior in previous incidents that resulted in the series of removals; and
- Additional factors such as the length of each removal, the total amount of time the child has been removed, and the proximity of the removals to one another.
Determination that removals do not constitute a change in placement:
If school personnel decide that a series of removals for more than ten school days in a school
year do not constitute a change in placement, school personnel, in consultation with one of your
child's teachers, determine the extent to which education services are needed to enable your child
to continue to participate in the general curriculum and to progress toward meeting the goals set
out for your child in his/her IEP. The child shall receive, as appropriate, a functional behavior
assessment and behavioral intervention services and modification that are developed to address
the behavior so that it does not recur.
Determination that removals are a change in placement:
If school personnel determine that the series of short-term removals is a change of placement,
your child's PPT determines the appropriate educational services to enable your child to continue
to participate in the general education curriculum and to progress toward meeting the goals in the IEP.
Is my child protected from being disciplined for behaviors related to his or her
disability?
If it is determined by you and relevant members of the PPT that the behavior that your child
engaged in was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to your child's disability,
or that the behavior was the direct result of the school district's failure to implement the IEP,
then your child may not be removed from the current educational placement (except in the case of
weapons, drugs, or infliction of serious bodily injury) and the PPT must conduct a functional
behavioral assessment, if one hasn't been done, and implement a behavioral intervention plan or
review an existing one and modify it, as necessary, to address the behavior and return the child
to the placement from which the child was removed, unless the parent and the school district agree
to a change in placement as part of the modification of the behavior intervention plan. If the
group determines that your child's disability did not cause your child's behavior, your child may
be disciplined as any other child, except that the school district must continue to provide services
to enable your child to progress in the general curriculum and to advance appropriately toward
attaining the annual goals set out in his or her IEP.
This determination of the relationship between your child's behavior and your child's disability is
referred to as the manifestation determination. Within ten school days of the decision to change the
placement of a child with a disability, a manifestation determination must be made.
If you disagree with the manifestation determination, you have the right to initiate due process.
Your child will remain in the disciplinary placement pending the decision of the hearing officer or
until the expiration of the time period imposed for the misconduct, whichever comes first, unless
you and school district agree otherwise.
Removal for up to 45 school days for offenses involving weapons, drugs, serious bodily
injury or danger to self or others:
The school district may place your child in an interim alternative education setting (IAES) for
up to 45 school days, whether or not the behavior is found to be a manifestation of your child's
disability, if your child:
- Carries a weapon to school or a school function, or is in possession of a weapon in school or at a school function;
- Knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of controlled substances while at school or a school function; or
- Inflicts serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, or at a school function.
Additionally, a hearing officer may place your child in an IAES if the hearing officer determines
that keeping your child in the current placement is substantially likely to result in an injury
to your child or to others.
If your child is placed in an IAES for up to 45 school days, the child must receive necessary
services to enable him/her to continue to participate in the general curriculum and to progress
toward meeting the goals set out in his/her IEP and, if appropriate, a functional behavioral
assessment, behavioral intervention services and modifications that are designed to address the
behavior violation so that it does not recur. Placement in an IAES for matters that relate to
drugs, weapons, serious bodily injury is made by the PPT. For matters related to the safety of
your child or others, a hearing officer determines the IAES. Your consent is not required, but
you may initiate due process if you disagree with the school district's decision to place your
child in an IAES. If you initiate due process, your child will remain in the IAES pending the
outcome of the due process proceedings or the expiration of the time for which he/she was placed
in that setting, whichever occurs first.
(From A Parent's Guide to Special Education in Connecticut, CT Department of Education, Bureau
of Special Education, 2007)