NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY
Discipline of Students with Disabilities: A Position
Statement
May 1998
In recent weeks and months, some lobbyists and some
in Congress have indicated a desire to amend the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act to give schools greater flexibility to
discipline all children, regardless of whether they have a disability,
with the goals of ensuring safety and an "appropriate educational
atmosphere" in the schools. Likewise, on April 22, Senator Jeffords
and Representative Goodling held a joint hearing on the regulations
interpreting the recent reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), at which the discipline issues were featured
prominently. The National Council on Disability (NCD) is concerned
about the way this issue is being characterized and the potential
harm to children with disabilities that may come from Congressional
efforts to revisit this issue.
Prior to 1975, few children with a variety of physical
and mental disabilities were given an opportunity to participate
in public education in many districts in the United States because
of fears on the part of school officials that these students were
"uneducable" or "untrainable." Students were literally turned away
at the schoolhouse door. In 1975, after two federal courts had recognized
the fundamental right to an education for children with disabilities,
Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act,
which later became known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA). The basic point of this civil rights law for children
with disabilities and their families is simple: all children have
a right to a free and appropriate public education. A critical component
of IDEA provides due process protections for children with disabilities
and their families, so that schools cannot unilaterally decide to
remove children from classrooms. This protection was necessary given
the history of schools excluding children who were found to be "difficult"
or expensive to educate.
In 1997, a strong bipartisan majority in Congress
reauthorized IDEA, giving schools new flexibility to discipline
students with disabilities who brought weapons or illegal drugs
to school or were found to be substantially likely to injure themselves
or others. Even before these new provisions were added to the law,
schools had the ability to remove students with disabilities from
the classroom for up to ten days and expel children when expulsion
was warranted after a due process hearing. While NCD recognized
at the time of the reauthorization that the additional flexibility
on discipline was likely necessary to address the concerns of school
officials, NCD was concerned that the discipline issue received
undue attention from the Congress, given the documented scope of
the problem and the development of ways to improve student behavior
short of discipline.
As President Clinton recognized when he signed IDEA
'97 into law, "young people with disabilities drop out of high school
at twice the rate their peers drop out of high school, and into
less certain futures." NCD believes that instead of making it easier
for schools to wash their hands of students with disabilities by
giving schools new tools to facilitate their discriminatory exclusion,
policy makers must look for ways to address the needs of all students
with and without disabilities so that they stay in school and succeed.
The same prejudices that resulted in the exclusion
of hundreds of thousands of children with disabilities from the
education system prior to the 1970s are driving some vocal school
officials to push for greater "flexibility" to discipline students
who they feel detract from an "appropriate" educational atmosphere.
Unfortunately, these officials are being heard by some members of
Congress, leading to a renewed effort to water down the federal
civil rights protections contained in IDEA in the name of discipline.
Historically, the need for "discipline" and "order" has been a pretext
for the full-scale exclusion from education of hundreds of thousands
of children. Congress acted in 1975 because it recognized that children
with disabilities were at greater risk of being subject to disciplinary
actions precisely because they have disabilities.
This past January, NCD held a hearing in Louisiana
focusing on the needs of children and youth with disabilities from
minority and rural communities in that state. At that hearing, Council
members were told that 60 percent of youth with serious emotional
disturbances drop out of school between grades 9 and 12. One child
advocate talked about the backlash against violence in the schools
as having a disproportionate impact on students who have disabilities
with behavioral manifestations. Likewise, studies have shown that
discipline disproportionately is applied to students with disabilities
who are members of minority groups.
Another Louisiana advocate talked about the problem
of schools removing students with and without disabilities for extended
periods of time: "Particularly in large urban districts, many such
students are ignored and are never referred for services they need
in order to learn. Not surprisingly, this contributes to behavior
problems, which are then solved by expelling the students, or encouraging
them to drop out, thus depriving them of education opportunities
that will prepare them for life."
In April of 1996, NCD held a national summit on disability
policy in Dallas, Texas, where a diverse group of over 300 disability
leaders from around the country participated. The summit produced
recommendations for policy in eleven areas, including education,
which were published in Achieving Independence: The Challenge for
the 21st Century. The education working group at the summit expressed
a high level of frustration from parents and students across the
country who face continued barriers to full participation in education
and effective instruction. Lack of accountability for schools, poor
enforcement of federal laws, and systemic barriers have robbed too
many students of their educational rights and opportunities. Two
of the recommendations made by NCD following the summit were for
the Congress and the Administration to ensure that current due process
protections for students under IDEA not be weakened and be fully
enforced; and that schools be held accountable for the appropriate
education of all students. NCD continues to stand behind these recommendations.
Many children with and without disabilities who pose
serious behavior problems end up in the juvenile justice system,
where the problems are often exacerbated. NCD is concerned that
some school officials are once again using their influence to rid
themselves of the "problem" kids, thereby turning the clock back
for children with disabilities by facilitating their discriminatory
exclusion. If those children happen to be from otherwise disenfranchised
groups within the district, such as low-income racial or ethnic
minority groups, the odds of them being subject to discipline and
discriminatory exclusion will only increase.
It is time that leaders in Congress and the education
community recognize that our nation cannot afford to write off the
"problem" students with the excuse of restoring "order" in the classroom.
With the design and implementation of appropriate individualized
education programs which include the necessary special education
and related services that may include behavioral intervention strategies,
the vast majority of children with disabilities have few, if any,
discipline problems. Often, it is an inappropriate placement or
ineffective method of instruction that is prompting problem behaviors
in students.
Until there is recognition that the "problem" kids
can succeed with appropriate interventions and that they have a
right to a free and appropriate public education, this country is
headed back to the days where children were written off because
of their disabilities. And if the nation lets this happen, all of
its children and grandchildren are at risk. Any child can fall off
her bike and hit her head on a tree, or develop schizophrenia as
a young adult. Should schools be permitted to let these kids sink
or swim in the education system, or should teachers be trained to
find ways to educate all children, notwithstanding whatever challenges
are posed by their disabilities?
In the coming weeks, as proposals to amend IDEA surface
on the Senate floor and in Congressional offices, NCD encourages
the elected officials to talk about the discipline issue as if it
is their child who is the target of the increased flexibility schools
seek to enforce discipline. Do you want to make it easier for the
local school to turn its back on your child?
|