Incidents keep happening despite the written behavior plan
Your child has a behavior intervention plan, but removals and calls home keep coming, and you cannot tell whether staff are using the plan’s own steps or the plan needs another look. No: when behavior impedes learning, the team has to consider positive behavioral interventions and supports, and consider them again at each review of the IEP, not sign a plan and stop looking (34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i), (b)(2)). Start by pulling the IEP page or the letter the dispute turns on and writing down today’s date; every move below adds to that record.
What the rule says
“In the case of a child whose behavior impedes the child’s learning or that of others, consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies, to address that behavior.”
34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i)
The plan answered the rule once; every review asks it again, and your incident log is what puts the question back on the table.
What to do this week, in order
Build a two-column log: each incident report, and whether the BIP’s own strategy was offered before the removal happened.
An incident log matched against the BIP steps
Request the FBA, the BIP, and staff notes on how the plan ran across the weeks your log covers.
The FBA, the BIP, and staff notes
Email the behavior specialist the paragraph below, naming the BIP’s strategy and the dates your log spans.
A sent copy with its own timestamp
If the log and staff notes disagree, ask the team to reconvene; information you provide is itself a ground for revising the IEP.
The reconvened review and its outcome34 CFR 300.324(b)(1)(ii)(C)
What to put in writing
Replace what sits in brackets and send it by email, so the date is fixed.
- To
- The behavior specialist who wrote the plan, copying the case manager
Dear [Specialist’s name], [Child’s full name]’s behavior plan describes [strategy, such as a break routine or check-in]. Across [number] incidents logged from [start of range] through [end of range], my notes show that strategy missing before the removal. Could you send the FBA, the current BIP, and the staff notes covering that stretch, and tell me whether the team intends to weigh the plan against this data. Should the team see no reason to change course, I would ask for that in a prior written notice, citing 300.503. Regards, [Your name] [Phone] · [Email]
If the answer is no, it arrives as prior written notice: what was refused, why, and the records the district relied on (34 CFR 300.503(b)).
When to escalate, and to whom
Escalate when the written answer is a no, or when the record you built this week draws no answer at all.
| The path | The count | How it runs |
|---|---|---|
| A state complaint | 60 days to a decision | A signed letter to your state education agency about a violation inside the past year; the state decides in writing within 60 days.34 CFR 300.152(a), 300.153(c) |
| Mediation | Voluntary, at no cost to you | You and the district sit with an impartial mediator the state pays for; it can start before any complaint and may not delay a hearing.34 CFR 300.506(b) |
| A due process complaint | 2 years to file | A hearing before an impartial officer; the district holds a resolution meeting within 15 days, and the decision is due 45 days after the 30-day resolution period.34 CFR 300.507(a)(2), 300.510(a)(1), 300.515(a) |
Those counts are IDEA’s; your state may set its own window for due process, and publishes its own complaint form.
This page explains the federal rule, and it does not replace your state’s procedures, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the pages this dispute is about read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the service, goal or wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
Review my IEP — freeFree, no card. It reads your pages and contacts no one.
Where this comes from
- The special factors an IEP Team weighs (34 CFR 300.324)Where the quoted sentence sits.
- Reviewing a BIP after discipline (34 CFR 300.530(f))When discipline forces a BIP review.
- Access to your child’s records (34 CFR 300.613)Covers the staff notes in move two.
- Prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503)What every no owes you.
When the paragraph needs to become a full letter, the letter templates carry one for each request.