Manifestation Determination

When a student with an IEP faces a serious school removal, the team may need to decide if the behavior was linked to the student’s disability.

A manifestation determination review (MDR) is a meeting required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is the federal special education law.

An MDR is held when a school decides to make a disciplinary change of placement for a student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). A change of placement means the student is removed from their current educational setting for enough time, or in a pattern, that the removal becomes a major change under IDEA.

The school district or charter school, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP team take part. They decide if the conduct was a manifestation of the student’s disability. In plain language, they decide if the behavior was closely linked to the disability or to the school’s failure to follow the IEP.

The MDR must be held within 10 school days after the school decides to make a disciplinary change of placement.

A change of placement happens when:

• the removal is for more than 10 school days in a row; or
• a series of removals forms a pattern.

A pattern may exist when the removals total more than 10 school days in one school year and the behaviors are very similar. The school also looks at how long each removal lasted, the total time removed, and how close the removals were to each other.

The school makes this decision one case at a time. Partial-day removals and informal requests to pick up a student may matter. Keep a record of every time your child is removed from instruction or sent home because of behavior.

On the day the school decides to make a disciplinary change of placement, it must tell the parent about the decision. The school must also give the parent a copy of the procedural safeguards. These safeguards explain family rights under IDEA.

Ask for the meeting notice, discipline records, incident reports, attendance records, the current IEP, behavior data, evaluations, and other records the team will use. You may also share information that helps explain the behavior.

Relevant members of the IEP team are chosen by the parent and the school. Ask who will attend and request any team member whose knowledge is important.

The team must review all relevant information. This may include:

• the student’s IEP and whether it was followed;
• teacher and staff observations;
• information from the parent and student;
• evaluations, health information, and behavior data;
• the student’s placement, services, and supports;
• any Functional Behavioral Assessment or Behavior Intervention Plan; and
• what happened before, during, and after the incident.

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is a process used to understand why a behavior happens. A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is a written plan that uses that information to prevent problems and teach helpful skills.

1. Was the conduct caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to, the student’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 student’s disability.

The team should not ask only whether the student knew right from wrong. It must look at the student’s disability, needs, supports, and the facts of the incident.

If the conduct was a manifestation of the disability, the IEP team must take action.

• If the student does not have an FBA, the school must conduct one and create a BIP.
• If the student already has a BIP, the team must review it and change it as needed.
• If the school failed to follow the IEP, it must correct that problem right away.
• In most cases, the student returns to the placement they left.

The parent and school may agree to a different placement as part of changing the BIP. Special rules also apply to weapons, illegal drugs, and serious bodily injury.

In three special cases, the school may place a student in an interim alternative educational setting for up to 45 school days. This is a temporary setting where the student still receives educational services.

The special cases involve:

• a weapon at school or a school event;
• illegal drugs or the sale of a controlled substance at school or a school event; or
• serious bodily injury to another person at school or a school event.

This rule may apply even when the conduct is a manifestation of the disability. The IEP team decides what services the student needs in the temporary setting.

If the team answers no to both questions, the school may use the same discipline it would use for a student without a disability.

However, the student still has important rights. After the student has been removed for more than 10 school days in the same school year, the school must provide services during later removals. The services must help the student:

• keep taking part in the general education curriculum;
• make progress toward IEP goals; and
• receive behavior services, when needed, to help prevent the behavior from happening again.

The IEP team decides the services when the removal is a change of placement.

• Write a timeline of the incident and earlier removals.
• Review the IEP, BIP, evaluations, and progress reports.
• Note any IEP service or support the school did not provide.
• Gather information about the disability and how it may relate to the conduct.
• Ask your child what happened in a way they can understand and answer.
• Write down the two MDR questions and the facts that relate to each one.
• Ask the team to explain its decision and the information it used.
• Request copies of the completed MDR paperwork and any new plan.

A parent may challenge an MDR decision or a discipline placement. One option is an expedited due process hearing. This is a faster legal hearing for certain special education discipline disputes.

Strict timelines apply. Review the procedural safeguards and consider getting help right away. You may contact the Utah Parent Center for free support. You may also speak with an attorney for legal advice.

This page gives general information. It is not legal advice.

IDEA Regulation: School Discipline and MDRs

The official federal rule on removals, services, MDRs, FBAs, BIPs, parent notice, and special circumstances.

IDEA Regulation: Change of Placement

The official federal rule explaining when disciplinary removals become a change of placement.

IDEA Regulation: Appeals

The official federal rule on appeals and expedited due process hearings.

Utah Special Education Rules

Utah’s current special education rules, including discipline requirements.

Utah Procedural Safeguards Overview

A short guide to parent and student rights in special education.

Manifestation Determination in School Discipline

A family guide from the federally funded Center for Parent Information and Resources.

You do not have to prepare for an MDR alone. Utah Parent Center parent consultants provide free, individualized support to families across Utah. We can help you understand the process, review your questions, and prepare for the meeting.

5296 S Commerce Dr., Suite 302, Salt Lake City, UT 84107
Phone: 801.272.1051
Toll-Free in Utah: 1.800.468.1160
Email: info@utahparentcenter.org

This page was funded by a grant from Interagency Outreach Training Initiative at Utah State University’s Center for Persons with Disabilities.