Special Circumstances: 45-Day Interim Alternative Educational Settings

Special Circumstances: 45-Day Interim Alternative Educational Settings

Regardless of whether a removal is a change of placement, school personnel may remove a student with a disability to an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) for up to forty-five school days in three special circumstances, without a manifestation determination first: when the student carries or possesses a weapon at school or a school function, knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs or sells or solicits the sale of a controlled substance at school or a school function, or inflicts serious bodily injury upon another person at school or a school function.

Legal Citations

• IDEA — special circumstances (Section 615(k)(1)(G))

• 34 CFR Part 300 — IAES (300.530(g)); IAES services (300.531); definitions (300.530(i))

• Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 290-8-9

Practical Guidance

The IAES is determined by the IEP Team: a setting that enables the student to continue to participate in the general education curriculum and to progress toward IEP goals, and that includes services and modifications designed to prevent the behavior from recurring.

The student remains in the IAES for the duration of the removal or until the parents and LEA agree otherwise or a hearing officer orders a different placement, whichever occurs first.

A manifestation determination review is still required when a special-circumstances removal constitutes a change of placement — the forty-five-day authority does not replace the review, and the review must occur within the same ten-school-day timeline.

School personnel may also ask a hearing officer to order a change of placement for a student who is substantially likely to injure himself or herself or others when the current placement is maintained. The hearing officer may order the IAES for up to forty-five school days.

Common Errors Identified Through Monitoring

• The IAES not designed to provide curriculum access and IEP goal progress, or functioning as an exclusionary setting without services

• The manifestation determination skipped because the removal qualified for the forty-five-day authority

• A removal to an IAES for conduct that does not meet the weapon, drug, or serious bodily injury definitions

• The student kept in the IAES beyond the removal period without agreement or a hearing officer order

Alabama State Department of Education — Special Education Services (SES)

Materials are provided for technical assistance purposes and do not constitute legal advice.