Manifestation Determination in Vermont: What Happens When Your Child with an IEP Faces Discipline

Your child with an IEP has been suspended, and the school is talking about a longer removal or expulsion. This is one of the most stressful situations a special education parent can face — and also one where knowing the rules gives you real leverage. Vermont follows IDEA's disciplinary protections closely, but understanding the specific requirements is what keeps the school accountable.

The 10-Day Rule

Students with IEPs have specific protections against long-term disciplinary removal. A school can suspend any student — including those with disabilities — for up to 10 cumulative or consecutive school days in a year without triggering additional legal obligations. Think of those first 10 days as the ordinary disciplinary window.

When the school proposes to suspend a student with an IEP beyond those 10 days — whether through a single long suspension, multiple shorter suspensions that add up, or a long-term expulsion — that constitutes a "change in placement." At that point, before the longer removal can proceed, the school must convene a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR).

The MDR must happen within 10 school days of the decision to impose the longer removal.

What the Manifestation Determination Team Decides

The MDR team is the student's IEP team, which must include the parent. The team reviews all relevant information — the IEP, teacher observations, relevant evaluations, and any relevant information provided by the parent — and answers two questions:

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

Question 2: Was the conduct in question the direct result of the school's failure to implement the IEP?

If the answer to either question is yes, the behavior is a manifestation of the disability.

If the Behavior IS a Manifestation

When the team finds manifestation, the school cannot proceed with expulsion or a long-term suspension as a disciplinary measure. Instead:

• The student is returned to their current educational placement (unless the parent and district agree to an alternative placement, or the incident involved weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury, which carry different rules under IDEA)
• The district must conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) if one has not already been completed — or review and update an existing one
• The district must develop a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) or modify the existing one to address the behavior

The child continues to receive all IEP services during this process. A change in placement cannot be used to cut off educational services.

If the Behavior is NOT a Manifestation

If the team determines the behavior was not caused by or substantially related to the disability, the school may discipline the student using the same procedures it would use for a student without a disability — including expulsion. However, even in this case, IDEA requires the district to continue providing a Free Appropriate Public Education in whatever alternative setting the student is placed. Services cannot stop entirely.

This is different from how Section 504 students are treated. A student with only a 504 Plan who is found not to have a manifestation can be expelled without continuation of educational services — an important reason that students with significant support needs should be on IEPs, not just 504 Plans.

Vermont's Act 1 and Bullying

Vermont's Act 1 prohibits harassment, hazing, and bullying in schools. If a student with a disability is bullied and subsequently has a behavioral incident — acting out in response to chronic bullying — that context is directly relevant to the manifestation determination. Bullying that denies a student FAPE can be raised simultaneously: demand both an Act 1 investigation and an IEP team meeting to address the impact of the bullying on the student's ability to access education.

Special Circumstances: Weapons, Drugs, and Serious Bodily Injury

IDEA allows schools to unilaterally remove a student with an IEP to an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) for up to 45 school days — without parental consent and regardless of whether the behavior is a manifestation — when the incident involves:

• Carrying or possessing a weapon at school
• Knowingly possessing, using, or selling illegal drugs at school
• Inflicting serious bodily injury on another person at school

The student continues receiving special education services in the IAES. The school still must conduct an MDR during this period.

Common Mistakes Parents Make at Manifestation Determinations

Attending unprepared. Review the IEP before the meeting. If the school has not been implementing services as written — if the speech therapy sessions stopped because the SLP left and wasn't replaced, or the accommodations were never communicated to the substitute — document that. Failure to implement the IEP is an automatic finding of manifestation under Question 2.

Accepting a biased team composition. The IEP team must include the parent as a full member. If you feel steamrolled or that the meeting is being run as a formality, request that the meeting be continued and consult with an advocate or attorney before reconvening.

Not challenging questionable findings. If you disagree with the team's conclusion, you are not required to sign agreement. Document your disagreement in writing. You have the right to dispute the finding through mediation, a state complaint, or due process. A due process hearing officer — not the IEP team — has the authority to override the team's manifestation finding.

What to Do Right Now

If your child has received a long-term suspension notice or is facing an expulsion hearing, put in writing immediately that you expect a Manifestation Determination Review within 10 school days and that your child's current educational services must continue in the interim. Contact the Vermont Family Network at vermontfamilynetwork.org and consider reaching out to Vermont Legal Aid's Disability Law Project at 1-800-889-2047.

The Vermont IEP & 504 Blueprint covers Vermont's full disciplinary process including how to prepare for an MDR, what documentation to bring, and the specific IDEA provisions that protect your child's right to educational services even during a disciplinary removal.

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