You are out of here

 You are out of here!

What to do with a kid who is really getting on your nerves? Not just today but most days.  Maybe he could go home, that would be nice.

There are thousands of children in our schools who are doing just that.  The process is called “informal removal” and if the child has a diagnosed disability it is illegal.  But like a lot of things that are illegal, a school district needs to be caught and that isn’t happening very much.

Here is how the scenario plays out.  A parent gets a call from the school.  “Mark is having a bad day, rather than have him get into trouble would you mind coming to pick him up?”  Most parents comply rather than have the child get into more trouble or perhaps even being suspended.

There are school districts that unilaterally place students on shortened school days.  Diane Smith, a lawyer with the National Disability Rights Network, has stated that “the reality is that there are children in this country who are still considered of insufficient quality to go to school”

The National Disability Rights Network, a nonprofit established by Congress more than four decades ago, found that informal removals are occurring thousands of times per year as “off the book suspensions”.  There are even students who are involuntarily transferred to programs that do not exist.

Children are placed in situations where they are required to “earn back” school time that they have a legal right to have.

Educators respond that this practice is their only recourse given the requirements of the Education of All Children with Disabilities Act (IDEA).  That legislation requires two very important elements related to informal removals.  First, a child may not be disciplined for exhibiting behaviors that are characteristic of the disability.  This process is called the Manifestation Meeting where the school’s team and the child’s family make this determination. And, secondly, if the team finds that the behavior is a manifestation of the child’s disability, then the school needs to come up with an individual education plan that mitigates against manifestation.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is up for changes.  Lawmakers have STRONGLY encouraged that informal removals be prohibited.  

Schools and principals are also under pressure to reduce the number of suspensions for children with disabilities.  The answer to that issue is to use informal removals.

Since COVID the practice has increased.  Families are now fighting back.  

There is nothing informal about removing a child from school and parents are going to prove that.