Serious Behaviors

Some Special Education students will exhibit behaviors that result in the need for a more intensive level of interventions.

Psychiatric Hospitalization

Some students may be placed by the family in a psychiatric hospital on a short-term basis to address acute needs.  Click on the link for a brochure on "next steps" for families.  English  Spanish

5150 Brochure English Spanish

Residential Placement

Some students with mental health needs will require placement out of the home into a residential facility in order to benefit from their Special Education program.  This is a decision that is made by the IEP team, including the parents.  Click here for the IEP Residential Placement Form. If a student is placed in a residential placement by the IEP team, there will be no cost to the family.  All costs witll be paid by the school district.

Suspension and Expulsion

Occasionally, Special Education students will demonstrate behaviors that make them subject to suspension or expulsion.  Click here for the acts which are considered possible for suspension and/or expulsion under CA Ed Code. 48900- 48927  Special Education students may be both suspended and expelled, but there are special “checks and balances” in the system that provide some extra considerations for students with disabilities. 

Click here for the Ventura County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Guidelines for Suspension and Expulsion.

All students can be suspended, at the discretion of the school principal, up to ten (10) cumulative school days in a school year, with no individual suspension for more than five days.  Once a student is being considered for suspension beyond ten days, if there is a pattern to the behavior, a special IEP meeting is held, which is called the Manifestation Determination meeting.  The purpose of the Manifestation Determination meeting is to determine whether the behavior which is subject to discipline was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the disability.   If the team determines that the behavior was a manifestation of the disability, then certain steps must be taken before disciplining the student further.  If it is determined that the behavior was not a manifestation of the disability, the student can be suspended up to twenty (20) cumulative days in the school year.  If there was no pattern, the student can also be suspended up to twenty (20) days.

If a student is being considered for recommendation to the school board for expulsion, a Manifestation Determination Review IEP meeting must also be held.  If it is determined that the behavior subject to expulsion was a manifestation of the disability, the student will not be expelled.  If it is determined that the behavior was not a manifestation of the disability, the student may be recommended to the board for expulsion as may any other student.  However, if a Special Education student is expelled, the district is still responsible for the provision of Special Education services during the period of the expulsion.

Click here for a copy of the Manifestation Determination form.

If a student with a disability commits an act which is considered to be dangerous, the principal has the option of placing the student in an Interim Alternative Educational Setting (IAES) for a limited period of time.  See the Suspension and Expulsion Guidelines for these acts and the requirements around the IAES placement.