North Dakota School Discipline for Students with Disabilities: Suspension, Seclusion, and Restraint

You received a call from the school saying your child was placed in the "calm-down room" again — this time for 45 minutes with the door held shut. Or maybe it's a suspension notice, the third this semester, each under 10 days. Or the behavior report says staff "used a hold" to remove your child from the classroom.

These situations feel alarming and often are. When the student involved has an IEP, there are specific legal protections that apply — both from federal IDEA and from North Dakota's own rules on restraint and seclusion. Understanding those rules helps you ask the right questions and take the right steps.

The 10-Day Rule and What Triggers It

Federal IDEA creates explicit protections when a student with a disability is removed from their educational placement for disciplinary reasons. The threshold is 10 school days.

A single suspension of more than 10 consecutive school days constitutes a "change of placement" and triggers a mandatory Manifestation Determination Review (MDR). So does a pattern of shorter removals — multiple suspensions that collectively exceed 10 days in a school year — if those removals form a pattern based on the similarity of behavior, the length of removals, and the total time removed.

Schools are not always transparent about how cumulative days are being tracked. If your child has been suspended three times for three days each, that's nine days — one more short suspension pushes you into the mandatory MDR threshold. Keep your own log of every removal, the date, the duration, and the stated reason.

Once the 10-day threshold is triggered, the school must:

1. Hold a Manifestation Determination Review within 10 school days of the disciplinary decision
2. Continue providing educational services in an Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) so your child can continue to progress toward IEP goals
3. Conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) if one hasn't already been done, and implement or review a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

If the MDR team determines that the behavior was caused by or directly related to the child's disability, or was the direct result of the school's failure to implement the IEP, the student cannot be expelled and must return to their placement (or a mutually agreed alternative) with appropriate behavioral support in place.

North Dakota's Restraint and Seclusion Rules

Physical restraint and seclusion operate under a separate legal framework that applies regardless of the 10-day suspension threshold. North Dakota has specific rules governing when restraint and seclusion can and cannot be used in schools.

Under North Dakota administrative rules, physical restraint — physically restricting a student's freedom of movement — is permitted only when a student poses a clear danger of physical harm to themselves or others, and only when no less restrictive intervention is appropriate. Restraint cannot be used as a disciplinary measure, as a consequence for behavior, or as a routine classroom management tool.

Seclusion — placing a student alone in a room or enclosed space they cannot freely leave — is similarly restricted. The door cannot be locked. The student must be continuously supervised. The use must be limited to situations involving imminent danger of physical harm.

Both restraint and seclusion must be documented. Schools are required to notify parents after each incident. That notification should include the student's name, the date, the time of the incident, a description of the incident, the type of restraint or seclusion used, and the length of time.

If you have received these notifications, or if you suspect restraint or seclusion is happening without notification, request a complete record of all behavioral incidents involving your child under FERPA. You are entitled to those records.

What "Seclusion" Means in Practice

Parents sometimes hear terms like "calm-down room," "cool-down space," "reflection room," or "sensory break room" without understanding that what's being described may meet the legal definition of seclusion. The label doesn't control the legal analysis. If a student is placed alone in an enclosed space and cannot freely leave, that is seclusion — regardless of what the room is called or how the staff characterizes the purpose.

The North Dakota Protection and Advocacy Project has documented cases of students being held in confined spaces for extended periods, including documented cases of students begging to be let out. These situations are not merely uncomfortable — they can constitute abuse, and they are legally impermissible when used as routine behavioral management tools or when the student is not presenting a genuine threat of physical harm.

If you believe your child is being subjected to improper restraint or seclusion, you have several avenues:

• Request all incident reports and behavioral documentation. This is your baseline — you need to know the frequency and circumstances.
• Review the IEP. Does your child have a Behavior Intervention Plan? Is it being implemented? A school that is resorting to restraint and seclusion while failing to implement a BIP may be violating the IEP itself.
• File a state complaint with NDDPI. The NDDPI Office of Specially Designed Services investigates complaints alleging IDEA violations, including failure to properly document and notify parents of behavioral incidents. The complaint must be filed within one year of the alleged violation, and NDDPI has 60 calendar days to investigate and issue a decision.
• Contact the ND Protection and Advocacy Project. P&A has specific authority to investigate reports of abuse and neglect of students with disabilities in educational settings, and they have historically investigated systemic restraint and seclusion problems in North Dakota districts, including a documented investigation into Fargo Public Schools' use of restraint on students with disabilities.

The "Special Circumstances" Exception

IDEA does allow a school to unilaterally place a student in an Interim Alternative Educational Setting for up to 45 school days — regardless of the MDR outcome — when the disciplinary incident involves:

• Carrying a weapon to school or a school function
• Possessing or selling illegal drugs at school
• Inflicting serious bodily injury on another person at school or a school function

These are narrow exceptions. A student who is aggressive in response to sensory overwhelm, who has an emotional outburst in the hallway, or who damages property does not fall under the "special circumstances" provisions. Schools occasionally overstate what qualifies. If the school is invoking a 45-day IAES removal outside these three categories, ask in writing which specific "special circumstance" they are relying on.

When the IEP Needs to Address Behavior

If your child is experiencing repeated behavioral incidents at school, the IEP itself needs to address behavior — not just academics. Under IDEA, if a child's behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, the IEP team must consider using positive behavioral interventions and supports. This is a mandatory consideration, not discretionary.

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) identifies the function of the behavior — what the child is trying to communicate or avoid through their actions. A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) developed from that FBA provides strategies for teaching replacement behaviors and structuring the environment to reduce triggers. If your child's IEP addresses academics but includes no behavioral goals, no BIP, and no FBA despite documented behavioral concerns, that is a gap worth raising at the next IEP meeting.

Requesting an FBA in writing creates a formal paper trail and triggers the school's obligation to respond. The school does not have to agree, but if they decline, they must provide a Prior Written Notice explaining their reasoning.

For a step-by-step guide to IEP rights in North Dakota — including how to respond to behavioral incidents, request an FBA, and invoke your rights under the 10-day rule — the North Dakota IEP & 504 Blueprint covers the full picture with state-specific guidance and templates.

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