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

GAO

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