The meltdowns keep happening, and no one will assess why
Your child keeps having meltdowns, elopement, aggression or refusal, and the school reacts to each incident on its own rather than asking what is driving the pattern. Not automatically: the district owes a functional behavior assessment once a removal counts as a change of placement and the team finds the behavior tied to the disability, rather than on your request alone (34 CFR 300.530(f)(1)(i)). 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
“the IEP Team must … conduct a functional behavioral assessment, unless the LEA had conducted a functional behavioral assessment before the behavior that resulted in the change of placement occurred”
34 CFR 300.530(f)(1)(i)
Once a removal is a placement change and the behavior is tied to the disability, the assessment becomes the district’s own next move.
What to do this week, in order
Start a log: the date, what happened — meltdown, elopement, aggression, refusal — and what came right before and right after it.
A dated behavior log, incident by incident
Send the FBA request to the case manager by email, describing two recent incidents from your log and naming the assessment you want.
Your emailed request, timestamped when sent
Ask the office for this year’s full discipline record — every removal and its length — to see whether the total passes ten school days.
The discipline record, with total days removed34 CFR 300.536(a)(2)(i)
If that record crosses the line, or the team won’t look at the pattern, ask for a meeting with the FBA on the agenda.
A dated ask for a meeting, plus whatever comes back34 CFR 300.530(f)(1)(i)
What to put in writing
Replace what sits in brackets and send it by email, so the date is fixed.
- To
- The school’s behavior lead, with your case manager reading along
Dear [Behavior lead’s name], Beginning [start date], I kept a log; it now shows [number] incidents of [behavior type], most recently on [date]. I’m asking the team to open a Functional Behavior Assessment rather than keep responding incident by incident. Please share the discipline record covering that window, including the length of each removal, and propose a date to meet. Please send any refusal to me as prior written notice; the citation is 34 CFR 300.503, and it should name the reason and the records used. [Your name]
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
- When an assessment follows discipline (34 CFR 300.530)The quoted rule itself.
- Change of placement, defined (34 CFR 300.536)The removal count move three checks for.
- Behavioral strategies the team considers (34 CFR 300.324)The review that should happen first.
- 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.