Can the school deny placement in gen ed because of behavior?

“Problematic” behavior is often a reason for removing a child from a general education classroom if it impedes the learning of the student doing the behavior or the learning of other students. Federal law 34 C.F.R. § 300.530(f) requires that the team first conduct a functional behavior assessment, create a behavioral plan, and implement it. If you do not think the FBA was adequate, you can ask for an IEE, and if the behavior plan doesn't work, check if the plan is being implemented with fidelity (the IEE observation would indicate if it’s not).

Plus, is behavior actually the problem? Or is the child communicating that the work is too hard? There is no reason for a child with a disability to inherently lack motivation, so simply adding rewards is not going to change behavior. Looking at what they are trying to communicate — or at their missing skills — can change how successful the child expects to be in a general education placement.

For more information, see our article Top 10 Things to Add to an IEP to Support Inclusive Placement.