POLICY LETTER: July 28, 2005 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina Commissioner Bill James
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July 28, 2005 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina Commissioner Bill James (MS Word)
MS WORDJuly 28, 2005 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina Commissioner Bill James (PDF)
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July 28, 2005 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina Commissioner Bill James (MS Word)
Dated July 28, 2005Commissioner Bill JamesCharlotte-Mecklenburg Government Building600 East Forth StreetCharlotte, North Carolina 28202Dear Commissioner James:This letter is in response to an inquiry dated March 23, 2005, from Congresswoman Sue Myrick, written on your behalf, to Secretary Margaret Spellings, U. S. Department of Education, regarding the discipline of students with disabilities. Congresswoman Myrick's inquiry was forwarded to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for reply. I am pleased to have the opportunity to clarify the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act Amendments of 2004 (IDEA 2004), which became effective on July 1, 2005, that are applicable to the discipline of students with disabilities.It appears that your primary concern is that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) Board of Education may be misapplying IDEA to permit students who have committed serious disciplinary infractions to remain in their classes. Although we are not in a position to comment on the specific factual situations giving rise to your inquiry, we can provide you a summary of some of the options that IDEA 2004 makes available to school authorities in disciplinary situations. While IDEA 2004 provides school personnel additional flexibility in disciplinary situations, many of the options described below also were available to school personnel under the predecessor statute, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997, which was in effect at the time of your inquiry. It has always been the position of the Department that our schools must be safe, disciplined, and drug free. IDEA 2004 expands the authority of school officials to protect the safety of all children when disciplinary violations occur, while ensuring that required protections are available to students with disabilities. IDEA 2004 continues to permit school authorities to remove a child with a disability who violates a code of student conduct from the child's current placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting, another setting, or suspension, for not more than ten school days at a time to the extent that such disciplinary action is applied to children without disabilities.In situations where there is a serious infraction of school rules, school personnel may remove a child with a disability to an appropriate interim alternative educational placement for not more than 45 school days without regard to whether the misconduct was determined to be a manifestation of the child's disability. This type of removal can occur if the child: carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on school premises, or to or at a school function under the jurisdiction of the State or local educational agency (SEA or LEA); knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance while at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of the SEA or LEA; or has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person while at school, on school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction of the SEA or LEA. School personnel may remove students to an interim alternative educational setting under the circumstances mentioned above without initiating a due process hearing. In addition, an LEA that believes that maintaining thMary N. Watson, DirectorExceptional Children DivisionNorth Carolina Department of Public InstructionEducation Building 301 North Wilmington StreetRaleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825Telephone Number: (919) 807-3970I hope that you find this explanation and the enclosed information helpful. If this Office can be of any further assistance regarding this matter, please feel free to contact me or Mr. Larry Ringer, Assistant Division Director, OSEP, at (202) 245-7496.Sincerely,Troy R. JustesenActing DirectorOffice of Special Education Programscc:Mary N. WatsonEnclosuresCommissioner Bill James Page 2
TOPIC ADDRESSED: Student Discipline |
SECTION OF IDEA: Part B—Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities; Section 615—Procedural Safeguards
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Last modified on May 9, 2017