IDEA Complaint Decision 25-131

On September 22, 2025, the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (parent) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue(s) identified are whether the district, beginning September 22, 2024, properly developed the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability to address their behavioral needs, and properly implemented the student’s IEP regarding academic and behavioral supports.

 

School districts meet their obligation to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to each student with a disability, in part, by developing a program based on the student’s unique, disability-related needs that is reasonably calculated to enable the student to make appropriate progress considering the student’s circumstances, documenting that program in the IEP, and implementing the program as articulated in the IEP. IEP teams must consider whether the student’s behavior impedes their learning or that of others. If so, the IEP team must document the student’s behavioral needs and include positive behavioral interventions and supports to address those needs in the student’s IEP. 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2). These supports may include specially designed instruction, related services, or supplementary aids and services. 34 CFR § 300.324(a)(2)(i); Wis. Stat. § 115.787(3)(b)(1).

 

The student’s IEP in effect on September 22, 2024, had been developed on May 23, 2024. The IEP team noted that the student had difficulty with maintaining attention and focusing which impacted the student’s learning. The IEP included a goal pertaining to academic engagement, provided a check-in check out system, breaks, preferential seating, and adult support in academic settings. During the 2024-25 school year, the student did not attend school for an extended period of time to receive treatment in a therapeutic setting. The student’s IEP team met on November 4, 2024, as the student was returning to school from the extended absence. The team noted that the student was having additional trouble with flexible thinking and responding appropriately to being told no. The team added more frequent check-ins with the student. The student’s IEP team met on January 6, 2025, to conduct the annual review of the student’s IEP. The team noted that the student’s behavior continued to affect the student’s learning and completed a functional behavior assessment (FBA). The IEP team developed a goal in the area of coping skills. The team specified supplementary services in social stories, frequent prompting, if/then language, conferencing, and modeling self-regulation strategies. In documenting the student’s behavioral needs and specifying appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports to address those needs, the district appropriately developed the IEP of the student during the 2024-25 school year.

 

The student’s IEP team met on August 28, 2025, to consider the parent’s request that the student be placed in an offsite private alternative program for students with significant emotional, behavioral, or mental health needs. The team considered information from the parent regarding the student’s behavior at home and information about the student’s participation in an alternative private summer program. The team also reviewed information that the student showing had made progress toward attaining academic goals during the 2024-25 school year. The team noted the student’s inconsistent attendance during the second half of the school year remained a problem for the student. The team added 120 minutes per week of specially designed instruction in coping skills, limited the number of adults that would provide adult supervision for the student to ensure consistency, and refined the adult check-in process to better suit the student’s needs. Given the student’s progress and the revisions to the student’s IEP, the team rejected the parents request for a more restrictive placement. The team met again on September 4, 2025, at the request of the parent, to consider additional information provided by staff from the student’s alternative summer program. The team considered the additional information and concluded that the IEP and placement developed for the student on August 28, 2025, remained appropriate. In considering input from the parent, information about the student progress during the 2024-25 school year, and making revisions to the student IEP to address the student behavior in a positive fashion, the district appropriately developed the student’s IEP for the 2025-26 school year with respect to the student’s placement in the district’s school.

 

The evidence reviewed by the department includes the student’s IEP, behavior intervention plan, and service logs, and interviews with district staff responsible for implementing the academic and behavioral supports in the student’s IEP demonstrates that the district properly implemented the student’s IEP.

This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266‑1781.