Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Long, Ph.D. — Director of Special Education, 32 years in public schools.
No — and in discipline cases the rule runs the opposite way from what most parents expect.
Outside discipline, “stay put” keeps a child in their current placement while a dispute is resolved. In a discipline appeal, 34 CFR § 300.533 keeps your child in the interim alternative educational setting — pending the hearing officer’s decision, or until the removal period ends, whichever comes first. Filing does not bring them back.
This is the most misunderstood rule in this subject, and it is better to know it before you file than after.
Two things soften it. You and the district can agree to something different during the appeal — that door is open, and your agreement is what opens it. And the rule works the same way when the district is the one appealing, not only when you are.
It is still often worth appealing. But decide knowing which way the rule points.
It depends on how long the removal has lasted, and the line falls in a place most parents are not told about. For the first 10 school days of removal in a school year, the district owes services only if it provides services to non-disabled students who are removed the same way (34 CFR § 300.530(d)(3)). After that, services must continue — enough to let your child keep making progress toward their IEP goals and toward the general curriculum, and to receive the behavioral support meant to keep the behavior from recurring.
Knowing which side of that line you are on tells you exactly what to ask for.
A copy of the procedural safeguards notice, on the day the decision to change your child’s placement is made — handed to you, not requested by you (34 CFR § 300.530(h)). If you leave that meeting without it, say so in writing the same day.
And if the team decides the behavior was the direct result of the district failing to implement the IEP, something specific follows: the district “must take immediate steps to remedy those deficiencies” (§ 300.530(e)(3)). That is a duty, not a suggestion, and it is separate from your child returning. Ask in writing what those steps are and when they will happen.
Dr. Long's Assistant answers your specific questions in plain language — built from Dr. Long's expertise, plus state and federal law read at the source — never the open internet.
Get started →This is educational information, not legal advice. IDEA, Section 504, FERPA, and state rules may differ by situation.
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