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My son is in kindergarten this year with an IEP related to autism. He was suspended today for behavior the reason given on suspension form is caused, attempted or threatened to cause physical injury.

He threw a Lego block on another kids head. As far as I know he has never been an aggressive child. He has the habit of throwing things down and laughing at the sounds it makes. This is the first time I had heard of this issue.

In the suspension form they have mentioned the previous intervention attempted is teacher tried redirection 5 times. They have taken a video of him throwing Lego blocks. Shouldn't they have tried to get his attention instead of taking video. I believe he would have listened if they tried to make eye contact with him. Is it possible to ask them to re consider the suspension?

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    I'm sorry you're in this situation, and imagine it is quite frustrating to you. Can you clarify in your post, whether this is the first time you've been told of this issue, or is this something that's come up before? Have you had regular discussions with your child's school about his behavior and his integration in the school? Am I correct in assuming that he's integrated into a regular classroom (as opposed to being in a "special needs" classroom)?
    – Joe
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 20:11
  • Joe, this is the first time im told about the issue. He is in a regular classroom. He is easily distracted and has trouble following instructions.
    – Nathi
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 21:34
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    I won't write an answer, as I don't feel I have experience that's more useful than any other parent here, but I'd definitely say that it's a red flag to me that they got as far as intentionally taking a video of his behavior without having brought the behavior up to you in an informal setting. Hopefully one of our educators and/or parents with experience with children under IEPs will be able to give you more information.
    – Joe
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 21:37
  • @Joe Video is often the teacher's friend of last resort, since teachers are not legally permitted to restrain students in most jurisdictions in US and Canada. Removing the other students and taking a video is a compromise that no one likes, but is safe for the teacher (no criminal charges) and school (policy and law were followed at great inconvenience). Since almost everyone has a smartphone capable of taking video, it's not a large stretch in time any more.
    – pojo-guy
    Commented Oct 4, 2017 at 3:21

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I agree with Joe's comment. The situation as you describe it has the stink of "looking for an excuse". Kids throwing toys at each other isn't exactly unusual and there should have been at least a few steps before suspension, with you being made aware of each one. You should ask why there were none. Ask to see their protocols for wrong behavior. They should be written somewhere. It seems like some shortcuts might have been taken here.

I would also argue that a typical lego brick is not likely to cause any significant injury. I don't believe that was your child's intent either.

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  • I have a meeting with the principal tomorrow. But what I didn't understand is the teacher had time to move remaining 20 kids out of class and take video why not just block him and hold him. Is it against law to just hold the hand so that he can't throw?
    – Nathi
    Commented Oct 4, 2017 at 3:15
  • I also didn't get any prior reports of misbehavior or actions taken to reduce that behavior
    – Nathi
    Commented Oct 4, 2017 at 3:16
  • @Nathi It is against the law to restrain the child in any way in most jurisdictions in US and Canada.
    – pojo-guy
    Commented Oct 4, 2017 at 3:18
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    @Olivier Common sense and dealing with children has gone out the window in the US today. Remember the seven year old who was suspended because he tried to chew a pop-tart into a mountain shape and the teacher thought it looked like a gun?
    – pojo-guy
    Commented Oct 4, 2017 at 3:24
  • To see how far it is not permissible for a child to be restrained, watch this video (graphic) youtube.com/watch?v=ZtQCUon1ZDA . The 13 year old boy suffered a broken arm and internal injuries. The Sherrif wanted to charge the bus driver for not intervening, but found that the bus driver was prohibited by county laws from intervening, and would have to be charged with battery if he had intervened.
    – pojo-guy
    Commented Oct 4, 2017 at 4:25

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