Read It and Weep

Candace Cortiella, my new email friend over at the Advocacy Institute, has been shooting me lots of great stuff. I want to draw your attention to a URL (Article) she sent me publishing the results of a study done by Susan Etscheidt at the University of Northern Iowa.  Susan reviewed 800 due process cases between 1997 and 2005. The article notes that:

"A Positive Behavior Intervention Plan must be developed when a student's behavior interferes with learning. Seventeen of the reviewed cases concerned the failure of IEP teams to develop positive BIPs for students with a variety of significant behavior problems. In the majority of the cases, the school districts were aware of the needs but still did not take steps to address serious behaviors that could be dangerous or long standing issues with school attendance that interfered with educational success. Parents prevailed in sixteen of the seventeen cases."

16 of 17, or 95%. Certainly, 17 cases is not a huge number, but 95% is a fairly clear expression of how hearing officers are deciding cases.

So how are your Behavior Intervention Program writing skills? What kind of support are you getting from administrators? By this time of the year, the honeymoon with parents and students is long over, and any disciplinary action requiring a Manifestation Determination meeting may creep up on you unexpectedly. Zero tolerance is smacking a lot of kids on the back of the head, but over eager districts may find themselves in court for suspending kids for what they see as serious behavioral incidents. Better to be proactive.

So, for you out there who are struggling with difficult behaviors, better work on your FBA and BIP skills, or work on your administration to provide you with the support you need to get a BIP for a difficult student. Trust me, showing them this article might just put a little fear of due process into them. And for you parents who are trying to get a BIP for your student, load this pupper in your cannon and blow it over your district's gunnels.  Maybe you'll finally get the behavior support plan that will help your child succeed.