If your student is on an IEP or a 504 plan and has been suspended for 10 days (either all at once or over a number of suspensions), that is considered a "change of placement," and the school must convene a manifestation determination review (MDR) to assess whether the behaviors that resulted in suspension were a manifestation of the disability. You have the right to call for the MDR before the qualifying suspension is over: in other words, if your student was given a 10-day suspension, you can call for the MDR to happen ASAP.

IME, getting a school to follow a BIP is a difficult thing, unless the BIP is tied to an IEP, and the behavior goals are written into the IEP. A 504 plan just doesn't cut it. In my kid's case, the suspensions for behavior related to his disabilities just didn't stop until the IEP was in place.

Last 2 posts very helpful. Thank you!

Are you appealing to the superintendent or school board? If it's expulsion they can't do that for a child with an IEP. Look up FAPE. Same for suspension over 10 days. You may want to get a lawyer in this case.

If it's suspension for less than 10 days you probably need to find the appropriate regulations or guidance for DCPS and quote from those. I'm not an expert but I don't think IDEA will help you very much here.

There was a Webinar a number of months ago sponsored by Parents Place of Maryland that you may want to look up. The speaker was very experienced and talked about BIPs and discipline of kids with disabilities. If I remember correctly she was specifically addressing the problem of suspensions.

You may be able to reach her directly by contacting the organization.

Yvette Young-DeCosta, Parent Educator at The Parents' Place of Maryland,
has more than 5 years experience helping families navigate the special education system. She is also Adjunct Faculty/Parent Class Coordinator at Prince George's Community College's Children's Developmental Clinic.

we are in DC proper

I'm sorry this is happening to your child, OP. Can you tell us what jurisdiction you are in?
If a Maryland county this might be helpful: http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/nr/rdonlyres/5f4f5041-02ee-4f3a-b495-5e4b3c850d3e/22802/disciplineofstudentswithdisabilities_september2009.pdf

I'm contesting discipline action against DC, and can show, despite multiple requests for BIP, the school failed to implement what they wrote down and refused to write down much of what I requested. So they took no action, poor behavior, that is directly tied to DC's disability, ensued and escalated, and then they took harsh disciplinary action that as discriminatory, and if they had done their job at all this year, the whole thing would have been avoided.

Also filing to show failure to respond to my requests, and failure to implement what is on paper.

Do you know about the Wrightslaw website? It can be very helpful.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/

You're going to need to give some more information OP. What complaint are you filing in July? What are you grieving?

Does anyone have resources on the law, the schools requirements, etc on implementing a BIP, and disciplinary protections under IDEAs or other laws?

Filing a complaint and need to quote regulations, laws or case law. I'm obviously not a lawyer, just a mom out for what's best for her kid.