MDOE confirms that students with disabilities outside of their school districts retain all of their rights under the IDEA, including stay put protections

Posted on December 13, 2021

MDOE confirms that students with disabilities outside of their school districts retain all of their rights under the IDEA, including stay put protections

On November 24, 2021, the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) issued Administrative Letter # 28 clarifying the obligations of Maine schools who receive students with disabilities from a home/sending school district through the IEP process.

DRM has heard from families with students who are left with little to no education when a receiving school decides that they will no longer serve the student – leaving the sending district and the family scrambling. While the sending district maintains the responsibility to provide the student a free appropriate public education (FAPE), it cannot be that the receiving school does not need to follow the IEP process. In response to a systemic complaint filed by DRM, the MDOE issued the Letter which sets out clear requirements for receiving schools, including:

“Special Purpose Private Schools (SPPS) and other out-of-unit entities must ensure compliance with IDEA, utilizing the IEP team process and maintaining “stay put” in the event of a dispute (34 CFR §300.518)” … “the Department has determined that SPPS and other out-of-unit placements are not in compliance with IDEA when they terminate a student’ s placement without going through the IEP process.” And, “Effective immediately, All SAUs must notify the SPPS and out-of-unit placements that in order to continue these placements, they must abide by the federal standard and provide FAPE to eligible students who are placed at SPPS and other out-of-unit placements.”

Often, when schools are seeking to place students outside the District, they seek to reduce the student’s school day or utilize segregated tutoring until a placement is found. This is almost never appropriate. For more information about the inappropriate use of a shortened school day, see: https://drme.org/blog/2021-08-31

MDOE Administrative Letter # 28 is available here: https://mainedoenews.net/2021/11/24/administrative-letter-iep-requirements-for-out-of-unit-placements/