For many parents of children with disabilities, a middle-of-the-day phone call from school means that their child's behavior has caused a disruption and they must be picked up immediately to help their child "calm down." Parents are forced to leave their workday commitments and go to school to pick up their children.
Sometimes the removal from school is only for the rest of that school day but sometimes it is longer These removals often go uncounted because they are not reported as suspensions. IDEA discipline protections have specific rules about suspensions of children with disabilities.
OSEP published comprehensive IDEA discipline requirements guidance in July, 2022.This package defines these types of removals from school as "informal removals" and provides guidance to help all stakeholders better understand and prevent informal removals.
The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR), is one of SPAN's organizational capacity-building projects funded by OSEP.
In the most recent OSEP blog, CPIR provides responses to key questions related to informal removals, such as:
- Why must parents and school personnel recognize the use and impact of informal removals?
- What are possible next steps a parent can take if their child's school repeatedly calls them to pick up their child from school due to their behavior?
Read the OSEP Blog post and CPIR responses here
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