Legal Rights of Children
Video Script
Learn More
Conducting a functional behavioral assessment is always considered best practice when a student is engaging in a behavior that is interfering with the learning of that student or the learning of others. A functional behavioral assessment is a required service when a child with a disability has been suspended for more than 10 days for a behavior that is considered a manifestation of his or her disability.
Click the "Next" button on the bottom of the screen to test your knowledge of when a school is required to conduct a functional behavioral assessment.
Joaquin is a 4th grade student served under the special education eligibility category of Other Health Impairment due to a medical diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Academically, he is on grade level, but he has difficulty following multi-step instructions and listening to verbal lectures for longer than 3 minutes. Additionally, Joaquin often provides verbal responses to his teacher’s questions without raising his hand first.
Two months ago, Joaquin was standing against the school fence during a fire drill. After 10 minutes next to the fence, Joaquin turned to his classmate, pushed his classmate on the ground and started hitting his classmate repeatedly. Joaquin was sent to the principal’s office and as a result of this incident, Joaquin was suspended for 5 days. Last month, Joaquin was in the cafeteria line when he pushed a classmate into another student causing a domino effect, which resulted in 10 students falling, with one student injuring her ankle.
For this behavior, Joaquin was suspended for 7 days. Because Joaquin is a student with a disability, and he has now been suspended for more than 10 days for similar behavior, a manifestation determination review meeting was held to determine if his behavior is a result of his disability of ADHD. The conclusion of the manifestation determination review was that the behavior was a result of his ADHD.
Does the school need to conduct an FBA and develop a BIP?
Answer: Yes.
The school is required to conduct an FBA because the behavior, which led to the “change in placement” or suspension for more than 10 days was determined to be a manifestation of his disability.
Temple is a 9th grade student with a specific learning disability in the area of written expression. Last week, Temple brought heroin to school. A manifestation determination review determined that this behavior was not a manifestation of her specific learning disability. The consequence for her behavior included expulsion and placement in an alternative school.
Is the school required to conduct an FBA in this situation?
Answer: No.
The behavior was not considered a manifestation of Temple’s disability, so the school system only needs to conduct an FBA as deemed appropriate. In this situation, it may be more appropriate to provide the family with some drug rehabilitation resources.
Tia is a 3rd grade student who has a diagnosis of autism. She is not receiving special education services because the school system determined that her social and communication differences were so mild that they did not cause a negative educational impact.
Over the course of the fall semester, Tia began engaging in rocking behavior 3-4 times per day. Her classmates have begun asking their teacher if they can sit away from Tia during these episodes of rocking behavior because her classmates find the behavior distracting.
Is the school required to conduct an FBA in this situation?
Answer: No.
Even though Tia has a medical diagnosis of autism, she is not considered a student with a disability in the school system and therefore is not afforded protections under IDEA. However, it would be best practice to conduct an FBA to determine the function or the reason for Tia’s rocking behavior. In addition, consideration of evaluation for special education services may be appropriate to provide Tia with IDEA protections should another interfering behavior manifest itself within the school setting.