January 2011: Repeated suspensions & "no pattern" decision

East Metro Integration District  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    A recent Minnesota state complaint illustrates how the "no pattern" rule applies.  A 10thgrade student with a specific learning disability was suspended in October for 4.5 days and in December for 3 days, both for theft.  On the last day of school before winter break, the student was suspended for possession of a weapon, pending completion of an investigation.  This suspension continued for the first 8 days after winter break, for a total of 16.5 days of suspension during the school year.  The student then enrolled in another school district. Was the district required to hold a manifestation determination meeting before the 11thday of suspension?  Here, the Minnesota Department of Education said "no" because the behaviors were not substantially similar (weapon vs. theft), so there was no "pattern" so no manifestation determination meeting was required.  Of course, determining "pattern" also requires looking at the total number of days of removal and the proximity of the removals to one another.  MDE apparently concluded that the total number of days and proximity of days did not fall over the "pattern" line.  This is consistent with the general opinion that "no pattern" is justifiable up to about 17-18 days in a school year as long as those days are not too close together.  The MDE stated that it would inform the current district that a manifestation determination meeting would be required before any further suspensions during the school year.  Why?  Because the "no pattern" exception buys a very few number of extra days over ten, and those extra days had now been used up by the previous school district.  This means that if the team at the new school concludes that the student's behavior IS a manifestation of the student's disability, the new school district may not suspend or expel the student for that behavior.  The school could still implement a 45 day removal but only for drugs, weapons, or serious bodily injury.