Biden administration warns of actions against students with disabilities in new school discipline guidelines

The Biden administration on Tuesday issued new school discipline guidelines in an effort to curb the high rates of suspensions and expulsions, as well as prevent and eliminate discrimination, for students with disabilities.

The discipline guidelines provide clarifications to rules the schools in the U.S. must follow in an effort to provide “substantial resources to support the challenging work of setting all students up for success and meeting their academic, behavioral, and mental health needs.”

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that the guidance includes “tools for schools to assist students in addressing any disability-based behaviors that could otherwise interfere with their or other students’ learning, or that could lead to student discipline or impact safety.”

The guidance comes just weeks before the start of the 2022-2023 school year. However, more schools are citing behavior problems in classrooms, according to The Washington Post.

Federal data found that students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act represented 13.2 percent of the total student enrollment in 2017-2018 but received 23.3 percent of all expulsions with educational services and 14.8 percent of expulsions without education services.

Experts say these expulsions may lead to student isolation and a decline in work ethic.

“Entire school communities benefit when all students feel safe, seen, and supported,” Cardona said. “It’s also vital to recognize that — while academic learning is crucial — students will struggle to succeed in school if they are not given opportunities to develop their social and emotional skills, like collaborating with others, persisting through challenging tasks, and managing conflict.”

Schools have struggled recently due to pandemic-related learning disruption and an increase in student mental health challenges.