Manifestation Determination

This page outlines the process when a student with a disability has been subject to disciplinary action, such as suspension or expulsion. The Manifestation Determination aims to determine whether the student's behavior that led to the disciplinary action was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the student's disability.

Manifestation Determination

1. Select a student on the Students panel.

2. Click the Documents icon for the student.

3. From the Create New Document drop-down list, select Manifestation Determination under Part B: Behavior, and click Go.

4. Enter a Label/Comment and click New. Click Additional Settings to specify the year and sections to include.

5. In the Student Information section, the system auto-populates the following information:

   • From the Student Info/Demo Part B profile:

     • Student

     • USI

     • DOB

   • From the LEA Entry/Exit Part B profile:

     • Grade

   • From the Special Education Part B profile:

     • Case Manager

     • Last Eligibility Meeting Date

     • Last IEP Annual Review Meeting Date

6. Enter a date manually or select a date using the calendar icon in the Date of Incident field.

7. Enter a time manually or select a time using the clock icon in the Incident Time field.

8. The system provides a textbox to type Incident Location.

9. Enter a date manually or select a date using the calendar icon in the Date of Manifestation Determination Meeting field. Once the document is finalized, this date flows to the Special Education Part B profile.

10. The system provides the following long stylized textboxes and the user must type a minimum of 20 characters in each textbox:

    • Description of behavior that resulted in the disciplinary action

    • Description of relevant information considered when determining if the behavior was a manifestation of the student's disability

11. Complete the information on the screen within the following sections:

    • Determination

    • IEP Team members present

    • Finalized Discipline Record

12. Click Save, Done Editing.

13. Finalize the document when completed. To finalize the document, click Set Document, select Status from Draft to Final, and then click Accept.

Determination

In the Determination section, perform the following tasks:

1. Select a checkbox associated with questions 1 and 2.

2. The system provides a long stylized text box labeled Discussion associated with each question. The user must type a minimum of 20 characters in the text box.

   • When either or both questions are answered as Yes, the system will auto-select the checkbox labeled The conduct in question WAS a manifestation of the ... the plan.

   • When both questions are answered as No, the system will auto-select the checkbox labeled The conduct in question WAS NOT a manifestation of the .... less likely to, recur.

IEP Team Members Present

In the IEP Team members present section, the following information appears:

1. Under the Participants Role column, the system auto-populates the student's name and their parent's name that has Educational Rights selected on the Student Contacts Part B profile. The system provides a list of the parent or guardian names with a checkbox.

2. Under the Name column, select a name from the staff table using the lookup function or type a free-form name, and click non-lookup for the following participants:

   • Special Education Teacher

   • General Education Teacher

   • District Representative

   • Evaluator/Individual who can interpret assessment results

   • Agency Representative, if appropriate

3. Under the How Attended column, select a value from the drop-down list for each participant. To add more participants, click the plus icon.

Once the student contact is updated in the Student Contacts Part B profile, the unfinalized documents display the latest parent or guardian name with education rights. The system auto-selects the latest Parent/Guardian name when the document is accessed using the More, Update Document from Student Profile option.

Finalized Discipline Record

In the Finalize Discipline Record section, select an Action checkbox.

1. When selecting the Warning, Call Parent/Guardian, or Counseling checkbox, the following fields appear:

   • Person Taking Action: Select a name from the staff table using the lookup function.

   • Select a response for the Parent Notification checkbox. If the user selects Yes, select a value from the How notified drop-down list. To add more notification options, click the plus icon.

2. When the user selects the Out-of-School Suspension, In-School Suspension, or Expulsion checkbox, the following fields appear, and the system adds the Prior Written Notice section:

   • Number of Days: Displays a numerical field.

   • Person Taking Action: Select a name from the staff table using the lookup function.

   • Date Discipline Begins: Enter a date manually or select a date using the calendar icon.

   • Date Discipline Ends: Enter a date manually or select a date using the calendar icon.

   • Parent Notification: Select a response for the Parent Notification checkbox. If the user selects Yes, they must select a value from the How notified drop-down list. To add more notifications, click the plus icon. To add more notification options, click the plus icon.

3. When the user selects the Other checkbox, a required textbox appears to describe the action.

Prior Written Notice

This section is only required when the user selects the Out-of-School Suspension, In-School Suspension, or Expulsion checkbox.

1. Within the Manifestation Determination document, navigate to Prior Written Notice using the flyout menu.

2. In the Student Information section, the system auto-populates the following information:

   • From the Student Info/Demo Part B profile: 

     • Student

     • USI

     • DOB

   • From the LEA Entry/Exit Part B profile:

     • Grade

   • From the Special Education Part B profile:

     • Case Manager

     • Last Eligibility Meeting Date

     • Last IEP Annual Review Meeting Date

3. Enter a date manually or select a date using the calendar icon.

4. The system auto-populates the student's name as Dear Parent/Guardian of <student name> when the student is below 18. If the student is 18 and there is a document transfer of rights, the letter will be addressed to Dear <Student's Name>.

5. The system auto-populates the name of the local educational agency (LEA) the student attends and the student.

6. The system provides the three drop-down lists to confirm the LEA's response for the proposal, action, and event. If the user selects Other as an event, a required textbox appears.

7. Type additional details in the following long stylized textboxes:

   • Description of the proposed or refused action

   • Explanation of why the LEA is proposing or refusing the action

   • Description of each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report used as a basis for the proposed or refused action

   • Description of other options considered by the IEP Team and reason(s) for rejecting those options

   • Description of other factors related to the proposal or refusal

8. The system auto-populates the name of the school the student attends from the LEA Entry/Exit Part B profile. 

9. The system provides a hyperlink to the OSSE Procedural Safeguards website. 

10. The system displays the name of the student’s Case Manager indicated in the Special Education Part B profile. The Case Manager’s Works At school, work phone, and email address are displayed. The school’s address details are displayed from the Locations profile.

11. Click Save, Done Editing.

12. Finalize the document when completed. To finalize the document, click Set Document, select Status from Draft to Final, and then click Accept.

Data Flow

Upon finalization of the documents, the following data flow occurs: