Know Your Rights · IEP Discipline

Manifestation Determination: What It Is and What It Means for Your Child

If your child with an IEP faces a long-term suspension or expulsion, federal law requires the school to conduct a manifestation determination review before moving forward. Understanding this process, and your rights within it, can be the difference between your child staying in school and falling through the cracks.

What Is a Manifestation Determination Review?

A Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) is a meeting required by IDEA when a school district proposes to suspend or remove a student with a disability for more than 10 school days in a school year. It’s also required when a school proposes a “change of placement” as a result of disciplinary action.

The purpose of the MDR is to answer a fundamental fairness question: Was this behavior a product of the child’s disability? If the answer is yes, the child cannot be treated like a child without a disability for disciplinary purposes, because punishing a child for behavior caused by their disability is both ineffective and legally impermissible under IDEA.

When Does the MDR Requirement Kick In?

The MDR must be conducted within 10 school days of any decision to:

• Remove a student for more than 10 consecutive school days
• Impose a series of removals that constitutes a “pattern”, typically more than 10 days cumulative in a year, in similar circumstances, for similar behavior
• Change placement to a more restrictive setting as a disciplinary measure
• Impose an expulsion

The Two-Part MDR Test

At the MDR meeting, the IEP team, including the parents, reviews all relevant information about the child, including the IEP, teacher observations, and any relevant evaluation data. The team must answer two questions:

1. Was the conduct caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to, the child’s disability?
2. Was the conduct the direct result of the school’s failure to implement the IEP?

If the answer to either question is yes, the behavior is a manifestation of the disability, and the school must follow specific procedures.

If Behavior IS a Manifestation

When the MDR team determines the behavior is a manifestation of the child’s disability:

• ✓Return to placement, The child must be returned to the placement from which they were removed, unless the parent and school agree to a change as part of modifying the behavioral intervention plan.
• ✓Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), The school must conduct or review a Functional Behavior Assessment if one wasn’t done, and use it to inform a Behavior Intervention Plan.
• ✓Behavior Intervention Plan, The BIP must be created or revised to address the behavior that led to the disciplinary action.

Learn more about Functional Behavior Assessments and what a good FBA looks like.

If Behavior Is NOT a Manifestation

If the team determines the behavior was not a manifestation, the school may apply the same disciplinary procedures it would apply to a student without a disability, but FAPE must continue. Even a student who has been expelled must continue to receive special education services enabling them to participate in the general education curriculum and progress toward their IEP goals.

Special Circumstances: Weapons, Drugs, Serious Injury

For three categories of behavior, weapons, drugs, and causing serious bodily injury, IDEA allows removal to an Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) for up to 45 school days, regardless of whether the behavior is a manifestation of the disability. Even in these cases, FAPE continues in the IAES.

Parent Rights in the MDR

You are a required participant in the MDR meeting. If you disagree with the team’s manifestation determination, you may file for due process, and during the pendency of that process, the child’s “stay put” placement applies. Having an advocate in the MDR meeting is especially important because these meetings happen fast, under pressure, and the outcome has significant consequences. Learn more about BIPs and how they work.