This month the United States Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services published a Dear Colleague Letter intended to help clarify the use of Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports in the IEP. A copy of the guidance can be found here: Dear Colleague Letter-on-PBIS-in-IEPs–08-01-2016 Of course, as a governmental document, it was a little complicated, so they have also included a Stakeholder Summary (Dear Colleague Letter-on PBIS-in IEPs-Summary-for-Stakeholders–8-1-16) to make it easier to understand.
This guidance emphasizes the requirement that schools provide positive behavioral supports to students with disabilities who need them. It also clarifies that the repeated use of disciplinary actions may suggest that children with disabilities may not be receiving appropriate behavioral interventions and supports. When schools fail to consider and provide for needed behavioral supports through the Individualized Education Program (IEP), it is likely to result in children not receiving the free appropriate public education to which they are entitled under federal law.
You can see the original press release here. Additional information can be found here.