Positive Discipline for Students with Disabilities

According to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, students with disabilities are over twice as likely to receive out-of-school suspensions compared to their non-disabled peers. This statistic highlights a pervasive issue in our education system: traditional, exclusionary discipline practices like suspension often fail to address the root causes of behavior for Students with Disabilities (SWD). Instead of solving problems, these approaches create new challenges, academic regression, social isolation, and potential legal complications for schools and districts.

There's a better way forward. A shift toward positive discipline offers effective, long-term alternatives to suspension for students with disabilities. This guide explores why traditional disciplinary methods fall short, defines the positive discipline framework, and provides practical, evidence-based strategies for school leaders. By embracing these approaches, schools can create environments where all students, including those with disabilities, can thrive behaviorally, socially, and academically.

Why Suspension Fails Students with Disabilities

The data is clear and concerning: students with disabilities face disproportionate rates of exclusionary discipline nationwide. For many, challenging behaviors aren't willful misconduct but symptoms of unmet needs or their disabilities. Removing them from the learning environment creates a paradox: students who need consistent support, structure, and skill-building are denied access to these resources. Without addressing the underlying causes or teaching alternative behaviors, suspension becomes a revolving door. Students return to the classroom without new skills, face the same challenges, and exhibit the same behaviors, perpetuating a cycle that benefits no one. This recognition has driven recent school discipline reform efforts nationwide.

The Legal Landscape: IDEA, FAPE, and Manifestation Determination

Suspending students with disabilities carries significant legal implications, beyond its practical ineffectiveness. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees these students the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). Removing students from their instructional environment can deny FAPE, particularly when the cumulative effect disrupts educational progress.

When disciplinary removals reach 10 cumulative school days in a year, schools must conduct a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) to determine if the behavior was caused by or directly related to the student's disability or the school's failure to implement the IEP. If either condition is met, the school cannot suspend the student for that behavior. This process introduces complex procedural requirements that, if mishandled, expose districts to complaints, due process hearings, and potential legal liability.

The Hidden Costs of Suspension

Suspension’s negative consequences extend beyond legal complications:

• Academic Impact: Each suspension day represents lost instructional time. Students with disabilities, who already struggle academically, fall further behind, face difficulty catching up, and experience increased risk of course failure and dropout.
• Behavioral Impact: Suspension fails to teach replacement behaviors or coping strategies. Without addressing skill deficits, behavior deteriorates over time, creating a worsening pattern upon each return to school.
• Social-Emotional Impact: The stigma of repeated suspension damages student-teacher relationships, erodes peer connections, and leads to feelings of rejection and alienation, opposite of what these students need for healthy development.

Embracing Positive Discipline for Students

Positive discipline for students with disabilities represents a fundamental shift in how we address challenging behaviors. Unlike punitive approaches that focus on consequences for rule-breaking, positive discipline understands that behavior is communication and a teaching opportunity.

Punitive discipline asks narrow questions: "What rule was broken?" and "What is the punishment?" It assumes students choose to misbehave and that negative consequences will deter future infractions. By contrast, positive discipline asks deeper questions: "What is this behavior telling us about the student's needs?" "What skills does this student need to develop?" and "How can we teach these skills while maintaining dignity and connection?" It recognizes that many students, especially those with disabilities, lack the skills to meet expectations.

Core Tenets

Several foundational principles rest on effective positive discipline:

• Connection Before Correction: Strong, trusting relationships between students and educators create the psychological safety necessary for behavioral growth. Students are more receptive to guidance from trusted adults.
• Teaching, Not Punishing: Behavior is a teachable skill, like mathematics or reading. When students struggle, they need instruction, modeling, practice, and feedback, not punishment that fails to build capacity.
• Problem-Solving: Involving students in finding solutions to behavioral challenges develops their executive functioning, self-awareness, and accountability. This collaborative approach transforms discipline from something done to students into something done with them.
• Proactive vs. Reactive: The most effective discipline systems prevent problems before they occur through clear expectations, predictable routines, and supportive environments tailored to diverse student needs.

Proactive & Foundational Strategies: Building a Supportive School Climate (Tier 1)

The best alternatives to exclusionary discipline start with creating systems that support all students. These Tier 1 interventions prevent many behavioral challenges and create a context for intensive support to succeed when needed.

Implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework that transforms how schools approach behavior at a systems level. Effective PBIS implementation creates predictability, clarity, and positivity in the school environment.

At its core, PBIS involves:

1. Defining 3-5 positively stated, schoolwide behavioral expectations (e.g., "Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe")
2. Teach these expectations explicitly across all school settings through demonstrations, practice, and feedback.
3. Acknowledging students meeting expectations through verbal recognition, token economies, or other positive reinforcement systems.
4. Consistently correcting behavioral errors using brief, respectful redirection and re-teaching.

A school can create a matrix defining respect in different settings. For example, "In the hallway, we show respect by using quiet voices and keeping hands to ourselves. In the cafeteria, we show respect by cleaning up after ourselves and using please and thank you."

This approach benefits students with disabilities, who thrive with clear expectations, visual supports, consistent structure, and positive reinforcement. The predictability reduces anxiety, while the emphasis on teaching and reinforcement aligns with their learning style.

Integrating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) addresses the foundational skills that students with behavioral challenges lack. SEL curricula systematically teach students to:

• Identify and manage emotions
• Set and achieve positive goals
• Show empathy for others.
• Establish and maintain positive relationships
• Make responsible decisions

Many behavioral issues stem from deficits in these skill areas. A student with ADHD who blurts out answers lacks impulse control. A student with autism overwhelmed during group work struggles with emotional regulation. SEL provides direct instruction in these areas.

Schools can integrate SEL through dedicated time blocks, morning meetings, advisory periods, or embedding lessons within academic instruction. For example, a literature discussion can include questions about characters managing conflict, or a history lesson can explore how historical figures showed perseverance.

Research shows that well-implemented SEL programs reduce disciplinary incidents and improve academic performance, a win-win for schools supporting all students.

Alternatives to Suspension: Targeted Interventions (Tier 2 & 3)

When universal supports aren't sufficient, schools need targeted approaches to address significant behavioral incidents without resorting to suspension. These interventions provide direct alternatives to suspension for students with disabilities while addressing the underlying causes of challenging behavior.

Restorative Practices and Circles

Restorative justice in schools shifts the focus from punishment to repairing harm and rebuilding relationships. Unlike traditional discipline that asks, "Who's at fault and what's the punishment?", restorative approaches ask:

• "What happened?"
• "Who has been affected and how?"
• "What needs to happen to make things right?"
• "How can we prevent this from happening again?"

Restorative circles bring together the student who caused harm, those affected, and a trained facilitator in a structured conversation. For example, if a student with an emotional disturbance disrupts class and damages materials, a restorative circle includes the student, teacher, affected classmates, and the student's counselor.

Through this dialogue, the student gains insight into how their actions affected others, takes responsibility, and participates in determining how to make amends. This process builds empathy, accountability, and problem-solving skills while maintaining the student's dignity and place in the school community.

Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP)

When challenging behaviors persist, understanding the "why" becomes essential. A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is a systematic process that identifies the function or purpose of a student's behavior. All behavior meets a need, whether it's:

• Gaining attention from peers or adults
• Escaping or avoiding difficult tasks or uncomfortable situations
• Obtaining desired items or activities
• Meeting sensory needs

An FBA reveals patterns through observation, data collection, and analysis. For instance, an assessment might determine if a student disrupts math class because the work is too challenging. The disruption results in being sent to the office, allowing the student to escape the task.

Once the function is identified, a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is developed to:

1. Modify the environment to reduce triggers by providing more structure during transitions.
2. Teach replacement behaviors that meet the same need appropriately (e.g., teach a student to request a break instead of throwing materials).
3. Change the consequences to reinforce the desired behavior and eliminate the function of the challenging behavior.

The BIP becomes a legally binding part of the IEP for students whose behavior impedes learning, ensuring consistent implementation across settings and staff.

Skill-Building and Counseling

Instead of sending students home where they receive little behavioral support, redirecting them to skill-building sessions with school counselors, social workers, or psychologists offers a productive alternative. These sessions can address specific lagging skills such as:

• Anger management and emotion regulation
• Conflict resolution and communication
• Self-advocacy and asking for help
• Organization and task management

These interventions are most effective when they align with the student's BIP and address the skill deficits identified in the FBA. The goal is to proactively build the capabilities students need to succeed, not just respond to incidents.

In-School Alternatives & Virtual Support

A well-designed in-school intervention program provides students with a supportive space to de-escalate, reflect, and learn while maintaining academic progress. Unlike traditional detention or in-school suspension, which isolate students with minimal support, effective reset rooms or intervention spaces are:

• Staffed by trained professionals who provide behavioral coaching.
• Equipped with resources for academic support and continued learning
• Structured to include reflection, problem-solving, and skill practice.
• Designed to help students process the incident and prepare for successful classroom

The challenge is staffing. Many schools struggle with educator shortages and cannot consistently dedicate qualified personnel to these intervention spaces.

Innovative solutions can bridge the gap. Fullmind provides certified virtual educators to run effective virtual In-School Intervention programs for schools struggling with staffing or space. Our teachers deliver live instruction, provide behavioral support, and ensure students continue learning in a structured, positive environment, transforming a disciplinary moment into a learning opportunity.

Keys to Successful Implementation

Adopting these alternatives requires more than new policies; it demands a cultural shift throughout the school. Success in supporting students with disabilities depends on a unified, school-wide commitment to positive discipline principles and practices.

Key success factors include:

• Strong Leadership: Administrators must articulate a clear vision, allocate necessary resources, and model positive discipline approaches. When principals commit to keeping students in school and learning, staff follow suit.
• Ongoing Professional Development: Teachers and staff need training in PBIS, restorative practices, de-escalation techniques, trauma-informed care, and disability-specific behavioral strategies. One-time workshops are insufficient; effective implementation requires sustained coaching and support.
• Collaboration: General education teachers, special education teachers, counselors, behavior specialists, and administrators must work as a coordinated team. Regular communication ensures consistent approaches across settings and facilitates problem-solving.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Schools should collect and analyze behavioral data to identify patterns, evaluate intervention effectiveness, and make informed adjustments. This includes tracking office referrals.
• Parent & Family Partnership: Parents provide insights into their children's behavior and reinforce positive strategies at home. Engaging families as partners in understanding and supporting their child's behavioral needs strengthens school-based interventions.

With these elements, schools can create systems that meet all students' needs while maintaining a positive, productive learning environment.

Conclusion

Moving from punitive to positive discipline represents not just a change in procedures but a fundamental shift in how we view students with challenging behaviors. The most effective alternatives to suspension for students with disabilities recognize that behavior is communication, skills can be taught, and keeping students connected to the school community is essential for their long-term success.

These approaches aren't "soft" or permissive; they're strategic and evidence-based. They hold students accountable while providing support for genuine progress. They protect schools legally while fulfilling our moral obligation to educate all students, regardless of challenges.

Schools create environments where every student can learn, grow, and thrive by investing in proactive systems, restorative practices, targeted skill development, and supportive interventions. The result is reduced suspensions, stronger relationships, improved academic outcomes, and school communities that work for everyone.