The guidance makes clear that a child with a disability is entitled to all IDEA’s safeguards including the requirement for a manifestation determination if the child is believed to have violated the facility’s code of student conduct. The guidance goes on to state: “These protections apply regardless of whether a child who violates a code of student conduct is subject to discipline in the facility or removed to restricted settings, such as confinement to the child’s cell or “lockdown” units.” The Department also warns against the harms that may ensue from class removals. “Any exclusion from the classroom is particularly harmful for children with disabilities in correctional facilities.” However, when the student is convicted as an adult and is in an adult prison, the Department permits that “the IEP Team may modify the child’s IEP or placement if the State has demonstrated a bona fide security or compelling penological interest that cannot otherwise be accommodated.”.^[1] The Department further reminds that the IDEA contains no provision for funding educational services of eligible students in federal prisons.

1. 34 C.F.R. § 300.324(d)(2).[↩]