Background

The Florida Department of Education has made disciplined and safe schools one of its highest priorities. The safety and discipline of students with disabilities is of major concern in this area. Some educators are under the misperception that current law prohibits disciplining students with disabilities. Others are unclear about the procedural safeguards that students with disabilities have and the flexibility that schools and districts have in disciplining students with disabilities. IDEA 2004 regulations have provided increased flexibility to school districts in disciplining students with disabilities, while preserving essential protections and rights afforded to students with disabilities. IDEA law and regulations are mentioned here by reference, because the OCR maintains a policy of reviewing IDEA and related case law to determine whether due process and other FAPE standards have been met under Section 504 and ADA.

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