Suspended preschooler

GinAndTonic

New Member
I just got off the phone with the administrator at my son's school. He hit a substitute teacher yesterday, and hurt her eye -- she had to go to the doctor. This is awful. I don't know yet how she is.

The school is suspending him for two days. He's FIVE. He's in preschool. It's a public, Special Education program. Is it even legal to suspend him? Any advice?
 

slsh

member since 1999
Yes, unfortunately, it is legal to suspend for up to 10 days per school year. in my humble opinion, it's utterly ridiculous to suspend a 5 y/o. I would expect it to have zero impact on him or his behavior - developmentally, he's just not mature enough to get it. Really silly move on SD's part, in my humble opinion.

If you want to fight it, a couple of things come to mind immediately. Was this sub a certified Special Education teacher - in other words, did she have any business being in a Special Education classroom or was she just a body filling an empty space? Was his IEP being followed? Does he have a behavior management plan (BMP) and was *it* being followed?

Personally, I wouldn't waste my energy on fighting the suspension. I absolutely would request an IEP mtg. If your son already has a BMP, it needs to be revised. The specifics of the incident need to be reviewed and a plan needs to be documented so that this hopefully can be prevented in the future. What was the trigger? New teacher? Change in routine? etc.

If he doesn't have a BMP, you need to request (certified letter) a functional behavioral analysis (FBA) so that a BMP can be developed by the IEP team. Remember that you are a member of the team and that you probably know your son best in terms of triggers and ways to effectively manage his behaviors.

Just my lay opinion - I'm no expert.

So very sorry you're going through this.
 

slsh

member since 1999
Just caught your response over in early childhood forum - actually, a 1:1 aide was my first thought. I think you've got a better arguement now (don't know what your original one was ;) ) in that he didn't adjust well to sub. A 1:1 would at least provide continuity if teacher is out - on the other hand, you then have to deal with upheaval if 1:1 is out.
 

GinAndTonic

New Member
Thanks for your answers. We're not going to bother fighting it -- it's not worth the energy.

He doesn't have a one-on-one aide because I'd never heard of such a thing. Sigh.
 
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