Suspension and Expulsion of Special Education Students in Wisconsin

Your child with an IEP was just suspended for three days for something that looks a lot like disability-related behavior. The principal told you this is "just how discipline works." It isn't. Students with disabilities have distinct rights under IDEA and Wisconsin law that kick in before any significant disciplinary removal — and most parents don't know these rights exist until they're already past the point where they matter most.

The 10-Day Rule and Why It Matters

The most important number in special education discipline is 10. Under IDEA, implemented in Wisconsin through Chapter 115 and PI 11, a "disciplinary change of placement" is triggered when a student:

• Is suspended for more than 10 consecutive school days, or
• Receives a series of shorter removals that form a "pattern" of exclusion and constitute a change of placement — considering factors such as similar behavior, similar circumstances, proximity, and the total days removed. Ten cumulative days alone do not automatically trigger an MDR.

Before a disciplinary change of placement can occur, the district must take specific legal steps. They cannot simply continue adding suspensions without examining whether the behavior is related to the student's disability.

Keep a running count of every suspension day your child receives and document the circumstances of each removal. A total approaching 10 days is a warning to assess whether the removals form a pattern; it is not itself an automatic trigger.

What Must Happen Before Expulsion

Expulsion is a formal disciplinary action that removes a student from school for an extended period. For students with disabilities in Wisconsin, expulsion cannot proceed the same way it does for general education students. Specifically:

The district must convene a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) within 10 school days of the decision to impose a change of placement. This meeting — documented on DPI Form I-12 — must include the parents and relevant IEP team members. It examines whether the conduct that led to the discipline was:

1. Caused by, or directly and substantially related to, the student's disability, or
2. The direct result of the district's failure to implement the IEP

If either answer is yes — the behavior is a manifestation of the disability — ordinary disciplinary measures such as expulsion cannot proceed, subject to IDEA's special-circumstances exceptions. The team must address the behavior through appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports, including an FBA or BIP when required.

Once disciplinary removals exceed 10 school days in a school year, the district must continue providing services. Those services must enable the student to participate in the general curriculum and progress toward IEP goals. During a removal of 10 school days or fewer, IDEA does not impose the same services requirement, though state or district rules may provide additional protections.

When the Behavior Is Not a Manifestation

If the MDR team determines the behavior was not a manifestation of the student's disability, the district may proceed with the same disciplinary measures it would apply to general education students — including expulsion.

However, there's still a critical protection: even after an expulsion determination for non-manifestation behavior, the district must continue providing special education services. The IEP team must determine what services are needed to allow the student to progress toward their IEP goals and participate in the general curriculum, even while serving the expulsion. This is one of the key differences between expelling a student with a disability versus a student without one.

Challenging an MDR Determination

Parents have the right to challenge an MDR determination that finds behavior was not a manifestation of the disability. Grounds for challenging an MDR include:

The analysis was superficial. The team listed the disability and the behavior in two separate boxes and declared no connection, without examining how the specific characteristics of the disability could produce or contribute to the behavior. For a student with ADHD who was suspended for being disruptive, a thorough MDR would examine how impulsivity and attention regulation deficits relate to the behavior in question — not just whether the student "knows the rules."

The IEP wasn't being implemented. If positive behavioral supports, prompting strategies, or environmental modifications required by the IEP weren't actually being delivered, the MDR must examine whether the behavior is the direct result of that implementation failure. If staff weren't following the BIP, the behavior may be a manifestation of the district's failure to implement, not just the student's disability.

Key team members were missing. The MDR team must include relevant IEP team members who have specific knowledge of the facts. If the student's primary service provider wasn't present, or if no one at the meeting could speak to how the student's disability manifests behaviorally, the process was flawed.

To challenge an MDR, you can request a due process hearing under IDEA. For ordinary placement disputes, stay-put under Wis. Stat. § 115.80 generally preserves the current agreed placement; disciplinary removals are subject to IDEA's special-circumstances and interim-alternative-setting rules, so do not assume the student automatically returns to the prior placement during the hearing.

The Three Situations Where Schools Can Remove a Student Without an MDR

Even when behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the disability, IDEA allows districts to remove a student to an Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) for up to 45 school days in three specific situations:

1. The student carried or possessed a weapon at school or a school function
2. The student knowingly possessed or used illegal drugs, or sold or solicited controlled substances at school
3. The student caused serious bodily injury to another person at school

The 45-day IAES placement must still include FAPE. The district cannot simply send the student home.

Documenting Discipline Patterns to Build Your Case

The most powerful thing you can do before an MDR is to have complete discipline records. Request:

• All incident reports from the current school year
• Suspension logs showing dates, duration, and stated reasons
• Any behavior data collected by teachers or staff
• Service delivery logs showing whether the BIP was being implemented
• Records of prior MDR meetings if any have occurred

Wisconsin parents are entitled to these records under FERPA and Wis. Stat. § 118.125. With complete records, you can:

• Calculate whether the 10-day threshold was exceeded without triggering an MDR
• Identify patterns showing behavior is consistently tied to disability-related situations (sensory environments, transition times, academic demands)
• Document that behavioral supports weren't being implemented — making a case that the behavior was the direct result of an IEP failure

The Wisconsin IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes a discipline tracking worksheet, an MDR preparation guide, and templates for requesting records, challenging MDR determinations, and demanding FAPE continuation during disciplinary placements. If your child is heading toward an expulsion hearing, the time to prepare your case is before the MDR — not after.

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