Essay About Special Education Students And School Suspensions

Report to the Ranking Minority
Essay title: Report to the Ranking Minority
Report to the Ranking Minority
Member, Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions,
U.S. Senate
United States General Accounting Office
May 2003
SPECIAL
EDUCATION
Clearer Guidance
Would Enhance
Implementation of
Federal Disciplinary
Provisions
GAO-03-550
In the districts and schools in the three states GAO studied, disciplined
Special education students were primarily placed in in-school suspension
Rooms or out-of-school suspensions at home, according to survey
Respondents. These short-term settings were used most frequently because
Most of the special education students in these schools and districts were
Removed from their regular educational settings for periods of 10 days or
Less, according to respondents. Special education students who were
removed for longer than 10 days were primarily placed in alternative schools
Or homebound placements. In addition to considering the length of the
Student’s removal when deciding where to place disciplined special
Education students, school and district officials considered the cost and
Availability of placement options and the nature of the student’s offense and
Corresponding disciplinary action.
Schools and school district officials in the three states reported that they
provided a range of services to disciplined special education students.
However, how the schools and school districts provided these services
varied significantly. For example, some school districts used self-paced
instructional packages to provide educational services to disciplined special
education students. Other school districts, however, used tutoring by special
education instructional personnel to provide educational services for similar
students. In addition to educational services, some disciplined special
education students had access to other services such as counseling.
The Department of Education provided guidance and oversight to states and
school districts for special education disciplinary placements by providing
information on federal requirements and reviewing state self-assessments,
improvement plans, and data and conducting on-site data collection visits in
selected states. However, according to some state and local officials, this
guidance has not been specific enough. In particular, the regulations do not
provide illustrative examples specifying whether the days of in-school
suspension should be counted