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Tennessee may soon make it easier for schools to temporarily remove some students with disabilities from their classrooms.
The proposed rule being considered by the Tennessee Board of Education would amend existing guidelines to allow schools to move a student deemed a “disruptive force” to a more restrictive environment before they’re evaluated in a functional behavioral assessment.
A 2022 state rule requires schools to perform these formal assessments, which identify behavioral causes and guide behavior intervention plans, when a student has exhibited dangerous or highly disruptive behavior.
The proposal has cautious support from disability advocates, who acknowledge the rule guidance could be needed to allow schools to safely educate students. But they caution the move should be a carefully considered option, not the norm.
Jeff Strand, public policy director for the Tennessee Disability Coalition, said it is “very, very important that schools do not rush into this option.” Strand said any move to a restrictive environment should involve a student’s family and individualized education program (IEP) team, the special education plan students with disabilities have a legal right to.
“Moving a student to a more restrictive setting is a big deal, and this rule change should not be taken as permission to do this routinely or without trying other options first,” Strand said.
The board of education discussed the proposed change in a May meeting. Tennessee education officials received repeated feedback from local districts about the challenges regarding students with disabilities engaging in “significantly dangerous or disruptive behavior,” according to state board documents.
“Behavioral issues among students remain a significant challenge in K-12 schools, with educators reporting that these problems have become increasingly severe,” said J.C. Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a Nashville-based teachers association. “Violent outbursts from students pose risk to both teachers and fellow students. Nonetheless, it is essential to ensure that students are placed in suitable education environments.”
Federal and state disability protections call for students with disabilities to be educated in the “least restrictive environment” deemed appropriate under their individualized education program.
The aim is to educate students in a general classroom setting with their peers. A more restrictive environment might be a separate special education classroom, separate school, or even a specialized homeschool or residential program.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires a functional behavioral assessment if an IEP team thinks a student should be moved to a more restrictive environment, but how and when states actually implement the assessments varies widely. In Minnesota, for example, the school has to demonstrate other failed interventions to justify a move to a more restrictive environment.
The 2022 Tennessee rule requires a functional behavioral assessment under several circumstances, including when a pattern of behavior disrupts learning or threatens harm, the student’s IEP team is considering a more permanent restrictive setting, or the use of restraint or isolation is being considered. Under the rule, though, it wasn’t expressly clear a student could be moved before or during an assessment.
Strand said in some cases, particularly with younger students attending school for the first time, there may be “unwanted behaviors” in the classroom that can complicate the formal assessments.
“Evaluations are time and resource intensive, and if those behaviors are so extremely disruptive or unsafe in the setting the student is currently in, that setting could impede the evaluation process and make learning difficult for all students in the classroom,” Strand said.
In May, state board member Jordan Mollenhour raised concerns about the timeline to perform formal behavioral assessments. Mollenhour said he was concerned about a child lingering for months in a restrictive environment before an assessment was completed.
“Should we provide very specific guidance, if you’re going to pull them out, can we shorten that window so the child is not being forgotten?” Mollenhour asked Tennessee Department of Education officials.
TDOE General Counsel Taylor Jenkins said there is not a definitive time limit for completing the assessments, but the department guidance has “typically” been that 45 to 60 days is an appropriate length of time.
The state board of education will hear public comment on the proposed rule on July 24 before a final vote.
Are you an educator who has dealt with this issue in your classroom or school? Chalkbeat Tennessee would love to hear from you at tn.tips@chalkbeat.org.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
