[Source: National Disability Rights Network]

Schools across the country remove students with disabilities from the classroom using illegal practices known as “informal removals. These off the books dismissals are described in detail in a new report released today by the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) called Out from the Shadows: Informal Removal of Children with Disabilities from Public Schools. 

The report provides examples of children missing entire semesters of instruction after being removed from school because of behaviors related to their disabilities. The practice, coined by NDRN as “informal removal,” refers to an administrative removal of a child from school for a sufficient period of time to constitute a “change of placement” without the necessary legal protections. These are underground suspensions, hidden from data reporting and policy reform efforts. 

Read the Rest of this Article and the Report