72-991a. Change in placement of child with disability to alternative setting as disciplinary action for certain behavior; duties of IEP team and hearing officer; behavioral assessment and intervention

72-991a

Chapter 72.--SCHOOLS
Article 9.--SPECIAL EDUCATION

      72-991a.   Change in placement of child withdisability to alternative setting as disciplinary action for certain behavior;duties of IEP team and hearing officer; behavioral assessment and interventionplan; determination and review procedure.(a) School personnel may order a change in the placement of achild with a disability:

      (1)   To an appropriate interim alternative educational setting or othersetting, or the short-term suspensionof the child;

      (2)   to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting for not morethan 45 school days if: (A) Thechild carries or possesses a weapon to, or at, school, on school premises, orto, or at, a school functionunder the jurisdiction of an agency; (B) the child knowinglypossesses or usesillegal drugs or sells orsolicits the sale of a controlled substance while at school, on schoolpremises, or at a school functionunder the jurisdiction of an agency; or (C) the child hasinflicted seriousbodily injury upon another personwhile at school, on school premises, or at a school function under thejurisdiction of an agency; or

      (3)   To an appropriate interim alternative educational placement for not morethan 186 school days, if itis determined that the conduct of the child violated the code of studentconduct and was not amanifestation of the child's disability, if the relevant disciplinaryprocedures applicable to children withoutdisabilities are applied in the same manner and the discipline is for the sameduration as would be appliedto a child without disabilities, except that services must continue to beprovided to the child during theperiod of disciplinary action.

      (b)   Any child with a disability whose placement is changed under subsection(a)(2) or (a)(3) shall:

      (1)   Continue to receive educational services so as to enable the child tocontinue to participate in thegeneral education curriculum, although in another setting and to progresstoward meeting the goals setout in the child's IEP; and

      (2)   receive, as appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment, behavioralintervention services, andmodifications that are designed to address the inappropriate behavior so thatit does not recur.

      (c)   The alternative educational setting described in subsections (a)(2) and(a)(3) shall be determinedby the IEP team.

      (d)   If a disciplinary action is contemplated as described in subsection(a)(2) or (a)(3):

      (1)   Not later than the date on which the decision to take that action ismade, the agency shall notify theparents of that decision and of all procedural safeguards afforded underK.S.A. 2009 Supp.72-992a, and amendmentsthereto; and

      (2)   within 10 school days of the date on which the decision to takedisciplinary action is made, areview shall be conducted to determine the relationship between the child'sdisability and the conduct thatis subject to disciplinary action.

      (e) (1)   The review described in subsection (d)(2) shall be conducted by theagency, the parent, andrelevant members of the child's IEP team as determined by the parent and theagency. In carrying out thereview, that group shall review all relevant information in the student's file,including the child's IEP, anyteacher observations, and any relevant information provided by the parent.

      (2)   Based upon its review of all the relevant information, the group shalldetermine if the conduct inquestion:

      (A)   Was caused by, or had a direct and substantial relationship to, thechild's disability; or

      (B)   was the direct result of the agency's failure to implement the child'sIEP.

      (3)   If it is determined that the conduct of the student is described ineither paragraph (2)(A) or (2)(B) ofthis subsection, then the conduct shall be determined to be a manifestation ofthe child's disability.

      (f)   If it is determined that the conduct of a child was a manifestation ofthe child's disability, the IEPteam shall:

      (1)   Conduct a functional behavioral assessment, and implement a behavioralintervention plan forsuch child, provided that the agency has not conducted such an assessment priorto the behavior thatresulted in a change in placement;

      (2)   if the child already had a behavioral intervention plan, review andmodify it, as necessary, toaddress the behavior; and

      (3)   except as provided in paragraph (a)(2), return the child to the placementfrom which the child wasremoved, unless the parent and the agency agree to a change of placement aspart of the modification ofthe behavioral intervention plan.

      (g)   For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

      (1)   "Controlled substance" means a drug or other substance identified underschedules I, II, III, IV, orV in 21 U.S.C. 812(c);

      (2)   "illegal drug" means a controlled substance but does not include such asubstance that is legallypossessed or used under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professionalor that is legallypossessed or used under any other authority under any federal or state law;

      (3)   "weapon" means a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance,animate or inanimate, thatis used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury,except that such term does notinclude a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2 1/2 inches in length; and

      (4)   "serious bodily injury" means an injury as described in subsection (h)(3)of section 1365 of title 18of the United States Code.

      History:   L. 2005, ch. 171, § 17; July 1.