Hi my son is in grade 5 with resource for language and math. He has LD and mild ADD. Our school has adopted a zero tolerance this year. There are about 220 kids at the school grade JK to 8. This year he has had 3 out of school suspensions one 2 day for playing football at recess. One 2 day for helping a friend who was being held on the ground , he pushed the kid off. and a 1 day for throwing snow balls with friends at each other.
I agree that he needs consequences for his actions but as they have no playground equipment it is hard for them to come up with appropriate activities with little supervision as there is only one teacher on duty.
I told the principle the first time that he just doesn’t think before he does something he know right from wrong. Also being sent home was not a punishment it was a reward as he hates to go to school. I told him it would be better for him to have to stay in at recess then miss out on school work that he really should have.
I was wondering if anyone had any good things i could say at his upcoming IPRC that we could put in his IEP so he doesn’t get suspended agian for little things.
thanks for your help
Re: suspensions
What am I missing here - a two day suspension from school for playing football? What do they do for kids who really misbehave - solitary confinement? I think I’d be at the school district having some discussions about what is normal behavior and what is a punishable offense. It sounds as if the kids are being set up to fail.
Re: suspensions
I asked for in school suspension and was denied.
The school has zero tolerance so no contact whats so ever, no swearing, no teasing,. As football has tackling not allowed. If you think thats bad I just found out from my daughter that she is not allowed to do cartwheels at school to dangerous can you believe it. And they wonder why kids are getting overweight they are not allowed to play.
Re: suspensions
Just out of curiousity, were all the kids playing football and participating in this snowball fight suspended? Were there any little boys left at school those days??
Joking aside, while I can see that the school wants to limit physical contact, suspension for playing a common playground sport seems excessive. Why can’t someone, for example the gym teacher, introduce these kids to the concept of touch football? There are all kinds of solutions to this problem that can be implemented while keeping the kids in school where they need to be. It looks like it might be up to the parents, unfortunately, to convince the school of this.
Re: suspensions
yes they were all suspended in each case it was 3 boys. I would be more simpathetic if they were throwing snowballs at little kids or the duty teacher.
unfortuntaly these boys are large muscle group kids don’t ask them to play pretend games or stand around talking.
This is a small school there are 28 kids in his grade level and it seems that they like to watch these boys. There is not one boy that hasn’t been suspended twice in his class some more. There has also been 4 girls that i know.
Its too bad the schools are not paid the same way as when i went to school they only got paid for how many students were there that day. Now they are paid a set amount.
Re: suspensions
I would be very concerned about a school system that fails to see the importance of physical activity in the daily schedule of a young child, esp. a young boy. Recess is not simply a break from studies but a necessary opportunity for a child to release energies he has had to keep under tight control for an extended period of time. If there is no age appropriate playground equipment available and certain activities are restricted, I would, as a parent group, OBLIGATE the school to provide some type of structured *allowed* activity during the recess period. Suspension serves no purpose when it is what the child ultimately wants and losing recess as a punishment does not help a child “get rid of the wigglies” as my mother used to say. As educators and parents, we are there to help these children, not make their lives more difficult. How can any learning go on in such a climate?
okay,some facts about his rights
Okay number one fact. This is a section of IDEA. It states the IEP team must
develop a plan in regards to his behavior.(see below)
Number two fact: The school knows that if they were to suspend him for more then ten days they would have to do a functional behavior assessment,they would have to have a hearing to determine whether his behavior was a manifestation of his disability,and if not already developed they would have to develop a positive behavioral plan.What they are not counting on is the federal government also says if a pattern of suspension within a school year make up the ten days,which he is four days away from,then all this would have to be developed.
Number three fact: You have the right to request a functional behavior assessment. This would simply be another educational evaluation. If he has missed 6 school days this year it most definitely has educational relevance,beside the fact that the IEP team is remiss in not addressing this in an IEP setting. He needs a positive behavioral plan,to prevent the school from suspending him in this manner.
The other thing I would do is most definitely request the written behavior policy the school must have that states playing football or doing cartwheels is part of their policy. I see where they are going in regarding to contact,but being responsible for educating these boys,and girls,then they must take obligation for providing appropriate activities AND adequate equipment to play with..
2) Consideration of special factors. The IEP team also shall -
(i) In the case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning or that of others, consider, if appropriate, strategies, including positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to address that behavior;
You could try to convince the school to implement in school suspensions. My sons school has these but unfortunately it didn’t work well for him since he has severe behavioral problems. Sounds like it could work for your son and others like him though.