Forgot your password?
Manifestation Determination
Guidelines for consideration by school administrators, staff, and parents.
Click here to get the file
File contents
AUBURN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
5 WEST STREET
AUBURN, MA 01501
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Questions and Issues to Consider BEFORE Excluding a Student with Behavioral Challenges from the Regular Classroom or School
A Guide for Educators, Families, and Students
The following guide has been developed to assist educators, families, and students in ensuring that placement of a student (who exhibits behavioral challenges) in a learning environment outside the regular education setting for any length of time or the use of any exclusionary practice is warranted and required. Educators, families, and guardians should discuss the answers to the subsequent questions/issues together.
It is critical to remember that a student should only be excluded from the regular learning environment if his/her needs cannot be fulfilled when provided with supplemental supports and aids. Students should not be denied access to the regular classroom based on categorical disability labels, his/her needs for individualized curriculum and/or instruction within the regular classroom or his/her needs for specialized supports.
Have the student's present levels of performance and needs been assessed, evaluated, and clearly identified relative to:
Academic or educational outcomes and learning characteristics.
Social development
Physical Development
Have the student's educational needs been clearly delineated prior to determining the least restrictive placement for the student?
Have needed accommodations been considered (e.g., curriculum and environmental modifications) to enable the student to access and benefit from instruction within regular education setting?
Can supplementary aids and services be provided in the regular education setting?
Is an individual plan (i.e., special education, 504) in place? Are the accommodations being carried out?
What educational accommodations have been made to help the student develop positive social skills?
Are there unique benefits, social, academic, or otherwise, which the student will receive by remaining in the regular educational setting?
Has the Team considered the student's health and medication needs?
Are there particular regular educational settings and/or situations in which the student is more successful? How can you capitalize on these factors?
What kind of training have you received in the use of positive behavior management and discipline techniques?
What assessments have been utilized to determine factors across environments that are currently or historically contributing to the student behavior?
What support are staff and family members receiving to help them access environments that are currently or historically contributing to the student's behavior?
Will the student's placement in the regular education setting (even with or because of the use of supplementary aids and services) impair the education of other students taking into consideration:
Level/frequency of disruptive behavior.
Teacher time devoted to meeting the student's needs at the expense of other students,
Need for extreme curriculum modification?
If the answer to question #13 above is “yes” then what can be done to lessen or eliminate the impairment of others?
Will other students benefit from the student's placement in the regular education setting?
Does your school have a policy governing the placement of students outside the regular education setting?
Have you assessed the effectiveness of the interventions, which have already been implemented?
Is there a crisis response/helping team for the student and/or the school? Who is on it?
Has the student and his/her family or advocate been involved in the placement outside the regular education setting?
Does the student and his/her family advocate freely support placement outside the regular education setting?
Has the team maximized the use of outside resources (e.g., mental health, alcohol/drug services, etc.)?
Why do you think the student behaves as he/she does? (e.g., is the student experiencing great stress that you are aware of?
What have you tried to prevent the need for excluding the student from the regular education setting?
What do you want to have happen for this student?
AUBURN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
5 West Street
Auburn, MA 01501
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
Attendance Sheet
Date: _________________
Student Name: ________________________________________________________________________
DOB: _____________________________________ _ SASID #: __________________________
Print Name and Role of Participants Signature of Participants
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
___________________________________________ ____________________________________
Auburn Public Schools
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
Special Education/Section 504 Team Meeting to Determine the Relationship of a Problem Behavior to the Student's Disability
Student Name: _________________________________________________________________
School: _______________________________________________________________________
Section 504Date: _______________________________________________________________
SASID # ______________________________________________________________________
Description of Specific Problem Behavior
State the purpose of the meeting and review the Special Education/Section 504 Parent's Rights. Discuss the following questions. Check the Special Education/Section 504 Team responses and record detailed summary of discussion on Conference Summary Report. Attach this form to Conference Summary Report.
Is the most recent evaluation current, comprehensive, and relevant to specific problem behavior? ___ YES ___ NO If no, conduct reevaluation (School staff should review evaluation(s) prior to the meeting)
Is there an unusual school or current life circumstance event that precipitate this behavior? ___ YES ___ NO
Is the present Special Education/Section 504 Plan current, complete, and responsive to evaluation information and problem behavior? ___ YES ___ NO If no, develop a new Special Education/Section 504 Plan and continue current placement.
Is the present Special Education/Section 504 Plan being appropriately implemented? ___ YES ___ NO If no, begin appropriate implementation/
Should the Special Education/Section 504 Plan be modified/changed in order to more appropriately address the problem behavior? ___ YES ___ NO If yes, make the changes and then determine placement in the least restrictive environment.
Is the problem behavior a manifestation of the disability? 1) Review the behavior characteristics common to the disability, 2) consider evaluation information that may describe specific behaviors and recommend interventions, and 3) discuss steps taken to by the school to address the problem behavior. Record this information in detail on the Conference Summary Report.
Special Education/Section 504 Team Discussions
The specific problem behavior is a manifestation of the student's disability.
Significant change in placement, including suspensions beyond the 10-day limit, may occur only with informed parent consent. If a parent disagrees with the proposed placement change, the school may consider seeking a temporary exclusion from state or federal court.
The specific problem behavior is not a manifestation of the student's disability.
Significant change in placement, including suspensions beyond the 10-day limit may occur. If a parent disagrees and wishes to stop the proposed action, the parent must request a due process hearing within 10 school days of the proposed action.
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
Worksheet for Manifestation Determination
Student Name: ________________________________________________ Date: ________________
Eligible for Special Education Services? If YES list qualifying disability: _______________________
Eligible for Section 504 Services? If YES list qualifying disability: _____________________________
Evaluation Team members; attach Team meeting list.
Source of Information:
___ Assessment/evaluations (attach assessment summaries)
___ Diagnostic information (attach results)
___ Interviews(s) conducted (attach summaries)
___ Direct observations (attach summaries)
Description of act of misconduct) include all relevant details):
Description of proposed disciplinary action:
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
Does the proposed disciplinary action constitute a change of placement (e.g. more than 10 consecutive days)? If NO, proceed with disciplinary action. If YES, consider the following factors in making manifestation determination:
Nature of the Disability
1. What is the student's disability (including its behavioral characteristics and specific severity)?
2. What major life function(s) are impaired? Include a description of how the disability impedes academic or social performance.
3.To what extent are those major life areas impacted? Include a description of the student's strengths, deficits, and coping/compensatory strategies.
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
4. To what extent, if any, does the student's disability preclude him/her from having the capacity to know that engaging in the behavior was wrongful (including any acknowledgement and provision in the current Special Education/Section 504 Plan?
5. To what extent, if any, does the student's disability impair his/her awareness and understanding of the impact and consequences of such behavior?
Review of Disciplinary Records
1. What is the behavioral history of the student (including severity, setting, and frequency)?
MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION
2. What is the history of behavioral interventions? Include a description of how long the behavior has been occurring untreated, settings where interventions have been applied, and results of the behavior techniques employed to date.
3. Did the student exhibit similar behavior in the past that was attributed to the disability? If so, provide the approximate date(s), specific behavior, and resulting intervention and discipline.
Role of Impulsivity
1. To what extent, if any, does the disability impair the student's behavioral controls? Include a description of specific characteristics related to the disability and the student's ability to consider long-range consequence before acting.