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When a child keeps getting in trouble at school, families often hear only about the incidents. What they hear less about is the process meant to figure out why the behavior happens and what to do about it. In New York City that process has names: a functional behavioral assessment, a behavior intervention plan, and, if suspensions pile up, a manifestation determination review.
Start with the assessment
The NYC Public Schools say the IEP team may ask for your consent to do behavior assessments. The two most common, they say, are a classroom observation and a Functional Behavioral Assessment, or FBA. In an observation, someone watches your child in class and other settings and notes how learning occurs, what the behaviors are, and what conditions are present. The FBA is described as a problem-solving process to find the reasons for a behavior and possible interventions.
The DOE says assessment information is used to prevent problem behavior, teach more appropriate behaviors, and help staff respond in ways that increase positive behavior.
The layers of support
The DOE says schools have a system that may include whole school supports, classroom interventions and individualized supports. Once those first two have been tried, you and the school may decide your child needs individualized help.
What goes in a BIP
After the FBA, the DOE says the IEP team may develop a Behavior Intervention Plan. It lists four parts:
- the target behaviors and goals
- positive behavioral interventions and strategies
- accommodations or modifications
- how the plan will be monitored and updated if needed
Read the plan for that fourth part especially. A plan with no way to check whether it is working tends to sit in a file.
Other supports the DOE names
The DOE also lists counseling, for social and emotional skills, and parent counseling and training, which helps you understand your child's disability and behavior so you can respond at home in a way that matches the school's BIP. If counseling is on the IEP and not happening, see missed counseling sessions.
When removals add up
The DOE says students with disabilities are entitled to a Manifestation Determination Review, or MDR, if they are removed from their regular placement by suspensions or teacher removals that last more than 10 consecutive school days, more than 10 total school days in a 40-day period, or more than 10 total days in a year when the behaviors form a pattern of removals.
The MDR is a meeting with you and IEP team members. The DOE describes two outcomes. If the team finds the behavior was a result of the disability, or that the DOE failed to implement the IEP, your child may not be suspended or removed except in limited circumstances. If not, discipline may go ahead. The DOE says that in either case the school will look at the behavior and add supports where needed, and that you may request an expedited impartial hearing to appeal the result.
Why missed services matter here
"Failed to implement the IEP" is part of that review. If counseling, a para or other supports were missing during the months behavior got worse, write that down with dates. Our record-keeping guide helps. When required services were not provided, a hearing or a settlement can sometimes award compensatory services; no one can promise that result. You can also check whether your situation fits with a short quiz.
If your child has gone weeks or months without what the IEP promises, you can ask for a free callback. We explain what families in your situation usually do and, where it fits, connect you with help. There is no cost to you, now or later.
Last reviewed: October 2026
