School Suspension and Disability Discrimination in Maryland: What Parents Need to Know

Your child was suspended — and you're pretty sure the behavior that got them sent home is directly tied to their disability. You are probably right. And if you are, the school may have just violated federal law.

Maryland students with IEPs and 504 Plans carry significant legal protections when it comes to school discipline. Understanding how those protections work, and where the hard lines are, is the difference between accepting an unlawful exclusion and pushing back with real legal leverage.

The 10-Day Rule: When Disability Protections Kick In

Under IDEA, a student with a disability can be suspended for up to 10 cumulative school days in a year under the same rules that apply to general education students. That is the school's window to manage behavior without triggering special education procedural protections.

Once suspensions — counting both consecutive days and shorter suspensions for related conduct — exceed 10 cumulative school days in a school year, the situation changes legally. A pattern of short suspensions that together exceeds 10 days can constitute a change in placement, triggering full IDEA protections. Maryland courts and the state's Office of Administrative Hearings have applied this standard strictly.

COMAR 13A.05.01 and the Maryland Education Article govern how local education agencies handle discipline for students with disabilities. The state does not allow districts to sidestep federal requirements through local policy.

Manifestation Determination Reviews: The Key Procedure

If a Maryland school district proposes a removal exceeding 10 cumulative school days, they must convene a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) within 10 school days of the decision. This is not optional.

The MDR team — which includes the parent — must answer two questions:

1. Was the behavior caused by, or did it have a direct and substantial relationship to, the child's disability?
2. Was the behavior the direct result of the LEA's failure to implement the IEP?

If the answer to either question is yes, the behavior is a manifestation of the disability. The school cannot simply proceed with expulsion or long-term removal. Instead, the IEP team must conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (if one hasn't already been done), implement or revise the Behavioral Intervention Plan, and return the student to their placement — unless the parent agrees to a change or the district invokes one of three specific exceptions under IDEA.

If the team determines the behavior was NOT a manifestation, the school can proceed with discipline as it would for a non-disabled student. But the student must still receive a Free Appropriate Public Education during the removal.

Disability Discrimination: When Schools Cross the Line

"Disability discrimination school Maryland" is one of the most-searched phrases in Maryland special education forums, and for good reason. What many parents describe isn't just a procedural misstep — it's a pattern of singling out students with disabilities for harsher consequences.

Specific forms of disability discrimination in school discipline to watch for:

• Suspending a child for behavior the school refuses to address with a BIP. If the district knows a student's behavior is disability-related and has failed to develop a BIP, using that behavior as grounds for suspension is both discriminatory and a denial of FAPE.
• Using suspension to avoid providing services. COMAR 13A.05.01.10 explicitly prohibits using home-based instruction as a substitute for school placement when a student has been removed for discipline. The school cannot simply assign homebound teaching and call it done.
• Informal removals that add up. Sending a child home "informally" — without paperwork — to avoid triggering the 10-day clock is a well-documented compliance failure in districts like Baltimore City and Prince George's County. Each removal, even unofficial ones, should be documented.

A parent who suspects systematic discriminatory discipline can file an IDEA State Complaint with the MSDE Family Support and Dispute Resolution Branch. MSDE investigators have 60 days to complete an inquiry and can mandate compensatory education for lost instructional time.

What to Do Right Now

If your child with a disability has been suspended or faces a disciplinary removal, take these steps:

1. Document everything in writing. Send a follow-up email after any verbal conversation with administrators. "Per our phone call today, you confirmed [child's name] was suspended for [behavior] effective [date]." If it isn't in writing, it becomes the school's word against yours.

2. Request the MDR in writing immediately. If the removal approaches or exceeds 10 cumulative days, send a written request for a Manifestation Determination Review addressed to both the principal and the special education coordinator.

3. Request Prior Written Notice (PWN) for any placement change. If the district proposes changing your child's placement as a disciplinary measure, they are required to provide PWN — a formal document explaining exactly what they're proposing, why, and what data supports the decision. Demand it.

4. Invoke stay-put. During any dispute over a disciplinary change of placement, your child's stay-put rights under IDEA keep them in their current educational placement until the dispute is resolved. This is one of the most powerful protections available to Maryland parents.

5. Request a Functional Behavioral Assessment. If the behavior that triggered the suspension has not been formally assessed, submit a written FBA request. The school is required to assess the function of the behavior and develop a BIP based on the findings.

The Home-as-Placement Prohibition

One Maryland-specific protection deserves its own mention. Under COMAR 13A.05.01.10, the home cannot be used as an instructional placement for a student who has been removed for disciplinary reasons. This regulation exists specifically because some districts were placing students on extended home instruction — effectively removing them from school — without following proper removal procedures.

If your child's IEP is being replaced with a home instruction arrangement following a disciplinary incident, and no proper placement change process was followed, this is a COMAR violation you can bring as an MSDE State Complaint.

Know the Difference: State Complaint vs. Due Process

For most discipline-related violations — missed MDRs, improper removals, failure to implement a BIP — an MSDE State Complaint is the most efficient path. MSDE can order compensatory services and mandate corrective action within 60 days. You do not need an attorney to file.

Due process is appropriate when the dispute is substantive, such as a disagreement about whether the behavior was a manifestation of the disability, or whether the proposed placement following an MDR is appropriate. Bear in mind that in Maryland, the burden of proof in due process falls on the party seeking relief — almost always the parent. Parents win approximately 19% of due process hearings in Maryland. State complaints, where MSDE investigates independently, avoid that burden and are often more effective for procedural violations.

If your child is facing school discipline connected to their disability and you want a step-by-step roadmap for MDRs, BIP requests, and MSDE complaint filings, the Maryland IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook consolidates the procedures, templates, and COMAR citations into one actionable guide.

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