Can an Alabama School Suspend My Child with a Disability? Know Your Rights.
If your child has an IEP or 504 Plan and has been suspended or threatened with expulsion from an Alabama school, you need to understand one critical fact: the standard disciplinary rules do not fully apply to your child. Federal law gives students with disabilities a set of powerful additional protections that schools are required to follow before they can impose serious discipline.
Many Alabama parents do not know about these protections until it is too late, until the suspension has been imposed, the records have been created, and the child has lost weeks of instruction. This guide will walk you through what the law requires, what your school must do before suspending your child, and what you can do when a school gets it wrong.
The 10-Day Rule: The Trigger You Must Know
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a school may suspend a student with a disability for up to 10 school days in a school year using the same procedures used for students without disabilities. This includes individual suspensions and cumulative short-term suspensions.
Once the total number of days removed from school exceeds 10 in a single school year, including in-school suspensions that deny the child access to their IEP services, federal law kicks in with full force. At that point, the school must:
Continue providing educational services so that the child can continue to participate in the general education curriculum and progress toward their IEP goals
Conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) if one has not already been done
Develop or review a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP)
Hold a Manifestation Determination Review within 10 school days
Many Alabama schools violate these requirements, particularly the obligation to continue services and the timeline for holding an MDR. When they do, parents have the right to challenge the school's actions.
What Is a Manifestation Determination Review?
A Manifestation Determination Review is a meeting that must occur before an Alabama school can impose a long-term suspension or expulsion on a student with a disability. The purpose of the MDR is to determine two things:
First: Was the conduct in question caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to, the student's disability?
Second: Was the conduct a direct result of the school's failure to implement the student's IEP?
If the answer to either question is yes, the conduct is a "manifestation" of the disability. In that case, the school cannot proceed with the expulsion or long-term suspension (with narrow exceptions for weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury). Instead, the school must return the student to their previous placement, unless you and the school agree to an alternative, and conduct an FBA and develop a BIP if they have not already done so.
MDR meetings are high-stakes. Schools have their own teams in the room. They frequently make procedural errors or reach incorrect conclusions about the connection between a child's behavior and their disability. Having a special education attorney present at or before the MDR can make the difference between your child returning to school or losing months of education.
What Happens If the MDR Gets It Wrong?
If you believe the MDR team reached the wrong conclusion, that they found no manifestation when there clearly was one, you can challenge that decision through an expedited due process hearing. An expedited hearing is scheduled on a faster timeline than a standard due process hearing because the student's placement is at stake.
You can also challenge the expulsion if the school failed to:
Provide you with adequate notice of the MDR meeting
Include the required members on the MDR team (you, the child's teacher, a school representative)
Review all relevant information, including evaluation data, teacher observations, and the student's IEP
Apply the correct legal standard in making the manifestation determination
Procedural violations at the MDR level are common in Alabama school districts, and they are legally significant. If the process was flawed, the outcome can be challenged.
Stay-Put Rights During Disciplinary Disputes
While a disciplinary dispute is pending, your child generally has "stay-put" rights, the right to remain in their current educational placement without change. Schools cannot unilaterally move your child to a more restrictive setting, reduce their services, or change their IEP while you are challenging a disciplinary action.
The exceptions to stay-put in the discipline context are narrow: schools may move a student to an Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) for up to 45 school days for conduct involving weapons, illegal drugs, or serious bodily injury, regardless of whether the conduct was a manifestation. Even in that situation, the student must continue to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the alternative setting.
Students Without IEPs: The 'Basis of Knowledge' Protection
Even if your child does not yet have an IEP or 504 Plan, they may still be entitled to IDEA protections if the school had reason to know they might have a disability before the disciplinary incident. This is called the "basis of knowledge" standard.
The school has a basis of knowledge if: you expressed concern in writing that your child might need special education, you requested an evaluation, a teacher or other school staff expressed specific concerns to school administrators about the child's behavior or performance, or your child's behavior prior to the incident was consistent with a disability.
If a basis of knowledge exists, the student is entitled to the same procedural protections as a student with an identified disability during the disciplinary process. This protection catches many Alabama families by surprise, in a good way.
Contact The IEP Lawyers Before the MDR Meeting
The best time to contact a special education attorney in Alabama is before the Manifestation Determination Review, not after. Once an MDR is held and the paperwork is signed, challenging it becomes more procedurally complex. We can prepare you for the meeting, advise you on your rights, identify red flags in how the school is handling the process, and, where appropriate, attend the meeting with you.
Call us at (256) 361-9402 (Northern Alabama) or (334) 293-1366 (Central and Southern Alabama) as soon as you receive notice of a suspension, expulsion hearing, or MDR. The consultation is free. Your child's education and their record depend on acting quickly. Schedule a free consultation: theieplawyers.com
FAQ Section
Q: Can an Alabama school expel a student with autism for behavior related to their autism?
Generally, no. If an MDR team correctly determines that the conduct was caused by or substantially related to the student's autism, the school cannot expel the student using standard disciplinary procedures. They must return the student to their prior placement and develop a plan to address the behavior through appropriate supports.
Q: What is an Interim Alternative Educational Setting?
An IAES is an alternative placement used during the pendency of a disciplinary action. For students with disabilities, even when placed in an IAES, the school must continue providing a free appropriate public education that includes the services listed in the student's IEP.
Q: Can a school suspend my child with an IEP for 10 days every month?
No. If suspensions are being used in a pattern to remove the student from school, this constitutes a change in placement under IDEA, triggering all the protections that apply to long-term suspensions. Courts have found that even short suspensions can constitute a change in placement when they reflect a pattern.
Q: My child does not have an IEP but has always struggled. Do they have any disciplinary protections?
Possibly. If the school had a 'basis of knowledge' that your child might have a disability before the disciplinary incident, such as prior parent requests for evaluation or expressed teacher concerns, your child may be entitled to IDEA protections during the disciplinary process.