Manifestation Determination Review Step By Step Process
Section I: Steps to follow leading up to the meeting
Step 1:
Once it has been determined that a SWD is going to be recommended for expulsion or be issued a ten or more days suspension the district must send a prior written notice, invitation to a MDR meeting, Whose IDEA.., along with the suspension/expulsion notice. The parent has the right to request a different date for the meeting if our proposed date doesn’t work for them, however, it must be held within ten days of the notice.
Step 2:
The district has ten days, from the date determined to suspend/expel the student, to conduct a MDR meeting. This recommendation for suspension beyond ten days or for expulsion is considered a change in placement – thus the aforementioned documents.
Step 3:
In the CCSD, we have determined that prior to holding an expulsion hearing we will have completed the MDR – so that the supt. has all of the information and placement options before him when trying to determine an appropriate course of action.
Step 4:
The MDR must be held with relevant IEP team members. This should be determined between the school and parent, my suggestion is that we propose to the parent the individuals we believe are relevant and then modify the team from there. You must, at a minimum, have a district rep, and intervention specialist at the meeting.
Section II: Preparing for the meeting
Step 1: Assure that the IEP is current. If it isn’t we may as well forget any recommendations for suspension or expulsion that have been made.
Step 2: Get a copy of the incident report and review it for details – clear up any questions prior to getting to the meeting. Bring a copy to the MDR meeting.
Step 3: Check with all teachers who may have been responsible for implementing any part of the IEP on the day of the incident and make sure that a) they were aware of the IEP, and b) they implemented the IEP, as written. If there is a behavior plan in place or an IEP goal that addresses behavior, bring documentation to support that we followed the plan/goal. We don’t have to share this with the parent, but we need to have the documentation available. If we didn’t implement the IEP or behavior plan we may as well forget any recommendations for suspension or expulsion that have been made.
Step 4: Review the students DASL record to determine how many behavioral incidents have occurred during the school year. We are trying to establish a pattern, or not, of behavior. Bring this to the meeting.
Section III: The MDR meeting
Step 1: Make sure that all identified IEP members have been notified of the meeting and that they are present at the meeting on time.
Step 2: Bring all current ETR, IEPs, progress reports, attendance, behavior reports, police reports, etc. to the meeting. Have copies ready for the parent.
Step 3: Bring a clean copy of the ODE Manifestation Determination Review Form to the meeting. The form can be accessed from the EdResource web site.
Step 4: Introduce all parties, don’t invite surprise guests that you have not informed the parent about, and explain the purpose of the meeting.
Step 5: Review the incident that has led up to the MDR, and then begin to work through the MDR form. You must go through the form in the sequence identified, no exceptions.
Step 6: The IEP team must consider any new information that the parent brings to the meeting. This usually is related to medication issues, home issues, new diagnosis issues, etc.
Step 7: The IEP must determine if the behavior in question was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the student’s disability. If the student is identified OHI because of ADHD, be prepared to have a thorough discussion about the student’s documented impulse control issues. This is relevant. If the student is LD, those conversations are a little more clear cut. For the ED student, read the ETR before you get into the meeting. Typically there is a lot of information in the ETR that has not been addressed in the IEP. Just a little note, it is very difficult to convince a parent that their child identified by us, as ED, displayed behavior that wasn’t relevant to his disability.
Step 8: Have all individuals present in the meeting sign the MDR. If the parent, or another person in the meeting, disagrees with the decision, they still need to sign the form, and indicate their disagreement. The only parties that have any rights in a disagreement are the parents, not a staff person. If the parent disagrees they have appeal rights through the supt. office or can file for a due process hearing. Any parental disagreement triggers a PWN and Whose IDEA…
Section III: The Behavior Wasa Manifestation of the Child’s Disability
Step 1: The student is returned to his original placement, the next day.
Step 2: The IEP team must convene within ten days and conduct an FBA and write a Behavior Plan.
Step 3: If the student has a behavior plan the IEP team would need to review the plan and determine if it needs to be updated.
Step 4: Make sure everyone has been given a copy of the Behavior Plan and clearly understands their role in its implementation.
Step 5: If the incident involved serious bodily injury, drugs or weapons we can suspend up to 45 days. But we still have to follow steps 2-4, prior to the student’s return. Notify my office so we can get HI in place.
Section IV: The Behavior Was Not a Manifestation of the Child’s Disability
Step 1: The district may issue the suspension, as specified on the original suspension notice. Notify my office so we can get HI in place.
Step 2: The IEP team needs convene to consider whether or not we need to amend the IEP if there is a pattern of behavior that is starting to reflect a problem. This is not required by ODE, but is a best practice suggestion.