Manifestation Determination in Maryland: What the Review Must Cover and How to Prepare

Your child with an IEP was suspended. The school is now talking about a longer removal — a long-term suspension, an expulsion, or a transfer to an alternative placement. Before any of that can happen, Maryland law requires a specific meeting: the Manifestation Determination Review, or MDR.

Most parents walk into an MDR without understanding what the team is legally required to determine, what the stakes are, or what happens if the answer comes out wrong. Here's what you need to know before that meeting happens.

What Triggers a Manifestation Determination Review

Under IDEA and Maryland's implementing regulations, any time a school proposes to remove a student with a disability for more than 10 cumulative school days in a school year — or when a removal pattern emerges that functions as a change of placement — an MDR must occur within 10 school days of that removal decision.

The 10-day count is cumulative, not consecutive. Three days here, four days there, three more days — once those add up to more than 10, the procedural clock starts. Many parents don't realize their child has crossed that threshold until the school proposes a longer removal and suddenly requests an MDR.

The MDR meeting is conducted by the LEA, the parent, and relevant members of the IEP team. The team reviews all relevant information — the IEP itself, behavioral intervention plans, any teacher observations, evaluation data, and the specific circumstances of the conduct that led to the removal.

The Two Legal Questions the MDR Team Must Answer

The review has a narrow, mandatory scope. The team must determine:

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

This is the core question. If a student with an autism spectrum disorder has a meltdown in response to an unexpected schedule change, and the IEP team never put sensory supports in place, the behavior is likely directly related to the disability. If a student with a reading disability sells a controlled substance on school grounds, that conduct probably isn't a direct manifestation of the reading disability.

But the legal standard here is "direct and substantial relationship" — not "caused entirely by." Many students have disabilities that affect behavioral regulation, impulse control, executive functioning, and emotional response. These connections need to be articulated clearly and documented.

2. Was the conduct the direct result of the LEA's failure to implement the IEP?

This is the second question, and it's frequently overlooked. If the IEP specified 30 minutes of daily 1:1 behavioral support and the school stopped providing it due to a staffing shortage, and the student's behavior escalated in that period, that failure to implement the IEP is directly relevant to the MDR determination.

You need to come to the MDR with documentation of any IEP services that were not delivered — missed sessions, vacancies in support positions, changes in service delivery that weren't reflected in a Prior Written Notice. Request a complete service delivery log for the current school year before the meeting.

What Happens if the MDR Finds It IS a Manifestation

If the team determines that the conduct was a manifestation of the disability or resulted from IEP implementation failures, the school cannot proceed with the expulsion or long-term removal. The student must be returned to the placement they were in, unless the parent and LEA agree to a different placement as part of a modified behavioral intervention.

Additionally, the IEP team must:

• Conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment if one hasn't been done (or if the existing FBA is outdated), and
• Review and revise the Behavioral Intervention Plan, or develop one if none exists

In Maryland, COMAR 13A.08.04 added a significant protection as of July 1, 2022: seclusion is strictly prohibited in all Maryland public and nonpublic schools. The use of physical restraint is also heavily restricted — it is only permitted in an emergency when there is imminent risk of serious physical harm, and only after less intrusive interventions have failed. If restraint was used prior to the suspension that triggered the MDR, this is relevant information for the team and potentially for a separate MSDE complaint.

What Happens if the MDR Finds It IS NOT a Manifestation

If the team determines the conduct was not a manifestation of the disability, the school may apply the same disciplinary procedures it would apply to a non-disabled student. This means expulsion proceedings can move forward.

However, even in this scenario, IDEA still protects the student. A student with a disability who is excluded must continue to receive a Free Appropriate Public Education that allows them to continue to participate in the general education curriculum and to progress toward their IEP goals. The student cannot simply be expelled with no educational services.

This is also where the Home and Hospital Teaching (HHT) question comes up. Maryland COMAR 13A.05.01.10 explicitly prohibits the home from being used as an instructional setting for a student who has been removed from school for disciplinary reasons. If the district attempts to shift your child to a home-based instruction model as a result of discipline, that is a regulatory violation you can challenge through an MSDE State Complaint.

How to Prepare for the MDR as a Parent

The meeting will happen quickly — within 10 school days. You need to move fast.

Request the complete student record immediately. Under FERPA and Maryland State Government Article § 10-611, you have the right to inspect and review your child's educational records. This includes not just the IEP but behavioral logs, disciplinary records, communications between staff, and service delivery tracking. Request everything in writing today.

Review the IEP against what was actually delivered. Identify any gaps. If the IEP says your child receives speech-language therapy 3 times per week and they've only been getting it once a week because the position was vacant, document that specifically.

Write out the disability-behavior connection before the meeting. Come with a written statement that ties your child's specific disability characteristics to the specific conduct at issue. If your child's evaluation describes deficits in emotional regulation, cite the evaluation language. If an outside psychologist's report describes behavior patterns that match exactly what happened, bring that report.

Know that you can disagree with the MDR outcome. If the team determines the conduct is not a manifestation and you believe the evidence says otherwise, you can file a due process complaint or an MSDE State Complaint to challenge that determination. The MDR is a meeting, not a court ruling. It is reviewable.

The Paper Trail That Changes the Outcome

The parents who are most effective in MDR meetings are not the ones who cry or argue the loudest. They are the ones who walked in with documentation: the IEP service log showing missed sessions, the evaluation report language that directly describes the behavioral profile at issue, and a written request already submitted for a Functional Behavioral Assessment.

When districts realize that a parent has the paper trail assembled and understands the legal framework, the MDR tends to go differently.

The Maryland IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes scripts specifically for the MDR meeting table, templates for requesting service delivery logs and behavioral records, and a walkthrough of the MSDE State Complaint process as a post-MDR remedy if the district's finding is unsupported by the evidence.

See more United States homeschool guides →