EDFacts

Discipline Data

Of preschool students who receive one or more out-of-school suspensions, 80% are boys.

Black students with disabilities are 3x as likely as White students with disabilities to be suspended and 2.5x as likely to be expelled.

Over 80% of students with disabilities suspended out of school multiple times are boys, and over 80% of those expelled are boys.

Black students are 5x as likely as White students to miss days of school due to out-of-school suspensions.

While students with disabilities make up just 12.6% of the student population, they represent 66% of those placed in seclusion.

Students with disabilities are more than 2x as likely as the rest of the student population to receive an out-of-school suspension.

Over 80% of students with disabilities suspended out of school multiple times are boys, and over 80% of those expelled are boys.

Black students with disabilities are 3x as likely as White students with disabilities to be suspended and 2.5x as likely to be expelled.

Boys represent over 80% of students with disabilities suspended out of school multiple times and over 80% percent of those expelled.

Black students are 5x as likely as White students to miss days of school due to out-of-school suspensions.

While students with disabilities make up just 12.6% of the student population, they represent 66% of those placed in seclusion.

Students with disabilities are more than 2x as likely as the rest of the student population to receive an out-of-school suspension.

Types of Disciplinary Removals

States and LEAs must report five types of disciplinary removals for children and youth with disabilities.

States and LEAs can apply disciplinary actions to any child and youth, including children and youth with disabilities. When reporting disciplinary actions, include all children with 0.5 or greater cumulative days removed (exclude parentally-placed private students).

In-school suspension

Instances in which the LEA temporarily removed a child or youth from his/her regular classroom(s) for disciplinary purposes but the child or youth remains under the direct supervision of school personnel. Direct supervision means school personnel are physically in the same location as the child or youth under their supervision.

Out-of-school suspension

Instances in which the LEA temporarily removed a child or youth from his/her regular school for disciplinary purposes to another setting (e.g., home, behavior center). This includes both removals in which the LEA provides no IEP services are provided because the removal is 10 days or less as well as removals in which the child or youth continues to receive services according to his/her IEP.

Expulsion

An action the LEA took removing a child or youth from his/her regular school for disciplinary purposes for the remainder of the school year or longer in accordance with LEA policy. This includes removals resulting from violations of the Gun Free Schools Act that the LEA modified to less than 365 days.

Removal to interim alternative educational setting

An appropriate setting determined by the child or youth’s IEP team in which the LEA placed the child or youth for no more than 45 school days. This setting enables the child or youth to continue to receive educational services and participate in the general education curriculum (although in another setting) and to progress toward meeting the goals set out in the IEP. As appropriate, the setting includes a functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention services and modifications to address the behavior violation so that it does not recur.

Removal by hearing officer

Instances in which an impartial hearing officer orders the removal of a child or youth with disabilities from his/her current educational placement to an appropriate alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days based on the hearing officer’s determination that maintaining the child's or youth’s current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to the child or youth, or others. The IEP team is responsible for determining the interim alternative educational setting.

EDFacts Files

States report children and youth with removals and number of removals in six EDFacts files.

States report IDEA disciplinary removals using the following EDFacts files specifications. The interactive graphic helps illustrate how the six EDFacts files are interrelated. Hover over individual file specifications to learn how the files are related.

Some of the files report counts of students; others report counts of removals. For more information about specific EDFacts files, including the purpose of the file and guidance for reporting, select any of the buttons.

Children and youth with disabilities ages 3–21

Total disciplinary removals

EDFACTS

FS088

Number of children and youth suspended, expelled, or removed.

FS005
FS006
FS143

LEARN MORE

EDFACTS

FS143

Number of times children and youth were suspended, expelled, or removed.

FS088

LEARN MORE

Removals to an interim alternative educational setting

EDFACTS

FS005

Number of children and youth removed to an interim alternative educational setting.

FS007

LEARN MORE

EDFACTS

FS007

Reasons why children or youth were removed unilaterally.

FS005

LEARN MORE

Suspensions or expulsions

EDFACTS

FS006

Number of children and youth suspended or expelled.

FS144

LEARN MORE

Educational services during expulsion

EDFACTS

FS144

Whether children or youth received educational services during an expulsion.

This document applies to all children ages 3–21

LEARN MORE

EDFACTS

FS088

Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Disciplinary Removals

Primary Disability

The primary disability identified in a student’s IEP. The disability code set is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

AUT

EMN

SLD

SLI

TBI

OHI

Autism

Deaf-blindness

Developmental delay

Emotional disturbance

Hearing Impairment

Intellectual disability

Multiple disabilities

Orthopedic impairment

Specific learning disability

Speech or language impairment

Traumatic brain injury

Visual impairment

Other health impairment

English Learner Status

An indication of whether a student meets the definition of an English Learner at the time of removal.

LEP

NLEP

English learner

Non-English learner

Race/Ethnicity

The general racial category that most clearly reflects individuals’ recognition of their community or with which the individuals most identify:

AM7

AS7

BL7

HI7

PI7

WH7

MU7

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Sex

An indication that students are either female or male.

Female

Male

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Purpose

To report the unduplicated number of children with disabilities (IDEA) who are ages 3 through 21 who were subject to any kind of disciplinary removal during the school year. EDFacts FS088 is submitted at both the SEA and LEA level.

Guidance

Students to report

Report children with disabilities (IDEA) as defined in the EDFacts Workbook who were ages 3 through 21 as of the child count date and were subject to a disciplinary removal. SEAs submit the file with the child’s primary disability category, English Learner status, Race/Ethnicity and Sex.

Students to exclude

Students who have been suspended for less than a half a school day.
Parentally placed private school students.

What is a disciplinary removal?

Any instance in which a child with a disability is removed from his/her educational placement for disciplinary purposes, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, expulsion, removal by school personnel to an interim alternative educational setting for drugs or weapon offenses or serious bodily injury, and removal by hearing officer for likely injury to the child or others.

Removal Length

The cumulative number of days children with disabilities (IDEA) were removed from their current educational setting during the school year.

Description	Code
Less than 0.5 cumulative days	[Not Reported]
≥0.5 cumulative days and <1.5 cumulative days	LTORQ1
≥1.5 cumulative days and ≤10.0 cumulative days	2TO10
>10.0 cumulative days	GREATER10

For example, a child who was suspended four times for three days each during the school year and who was removed 12 cumulative days would be reported once as greater than 10 days in the "GREATER10" category.

How are cumulative days counted?

Students who have cumulatively been suspended for a half a day or longer should be reported. States that are unable to record data on a half-day basis should count all half-day suspensions as whole-day suspensions.

For Full EDFacts FS088 file visit:

EDFACTS

FS143

Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Disciplinary Removals

Primary Disability

The primary disability identified in a student’s IEP. The disability code set is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

AUT

EMN

SLD

SLI

TBI

OHI

Autism

Deaf-blindness

Developmental delay

Emotional disturbance

Hearing Impairment

Intellectual disability

Multiple disabilities

Orthopedic impairment

Specific learning disability

Speech or language impairment

Traumatic brain injury

Visual impairment

Other health impairment

English Learner Status

An indication of whether a student meets the definition of an English Learner at the time of removal.

LEP

NLEP

English learner

Non-English learner

Race/Ethnicity

The general racial category that most clearly reflects individuals’ recognition of their community or with which the individuals most identify:

AM7

AS7

BL7

HI7

PI7

WH7

MU7

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Sex

An indication that students are either female or male.

Female

Male

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Purpose

This file specification is used to collect the number of times children with disabilities (IDEA) who were ages 3 through 21 and subject to any kind of disciplinary removal. EDFacts FS143 is submitted for both the SEA level and LEA level.

Guidance

Students to report

Report children with disabilities (IDEA) as defined in the EDFacts Workbook who were ages 3 through 21 as of the child count date and were subject to a disciplinary removal. SEAs submit the file with the child’s primary disability category, English Learner status, Race/Ethnicity and Sex.

Students to exclude

Students who have cumulatively been suspended for less than half a school day.
Students parentally placed in a private school.

What is a disciplinary removal?

Any instance in which a child with a disability is removed from his/her educational placement for disciplinary purposes, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, expulsion, removal by school personnel to an interim alternative educational setting for drugs or weapon offenses or serious bodily injury, and removal by hearing officer for likely injury to the child or others.

How are cumulative days counted?

Students who have cumulatively been suspended for a half a day or longer should be reported. States that are unable to record data on a half-day basis should count all half-day suspensions as whole-day suspensions.

For Full EDFacts FS143 file visit:

EDFACTS

FS005

Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Removal to Interim Alternative Educational Setting

Primary Disability

The primary disability identified in a student’s IEP. The disability code set is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

AUT

EMN

SLD

SLI

TBI

OHI

Autism

Deaf-blindness

Developmental delay

Emotional disturbance

Hearing Impairment

Intellectual disability

Multiple disabilities

Orthopedic impairment

Specific learning disability

Speech or language impairment

Traumatic brain injury

Visual impairment

Other health impairment

English Learner Status

An indication of whether a student meets the definition of an English Learner at the time of removal.

LEP

NLEP

English learner

Non-English learner

Race/Ethnicity

The general racial category that most clearly reflects individuals’ recognition of their community or with which the individuals most identify:

AM7

AS7

BL7

HI7

PI7

WH7

MU7

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Sex

An indication that students are either female or male.

Female

Male

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Purpose

This file specification is used to collect the number of children with disabilities (IDEA) who are ages 3 through 21 and removed to an interim alternative educational setting. EDFacts FS005 is submitted for both the SEA level and LEA level.

Guidance

Students to report

Report children with disabilities (IDEA) as defined in the EDFacts Workbook who were ages 3 through 21 as of the child count date and were subject to either:

Unilateral removal by school personnel
Removed based on a hearing officer's determination

In instances in which the IEP team meets to determine the appropriate setting where the child will receive educational services following a unilateral removal by school personnel or a removal by a hearing officer for likely injury, the removal must be included in this file. SEAs submit the file with the child’s primary disability category, English Learner status, Race/Ethnicity and Sex.

Students to exclude

Students who were removed from their current educational placement as a result of a decision by the IEP team to change the student’s placement
Students parentally placed in a private school
Students who are removed by school personnel for drugs, weapon or serious bodily injury and were not sent to an interim alternative educational setting (These students should be reported in FS006 as having been suspended.)

Interim Removal Codes

The types of interim removal from current educational setting experienced by children with disabilities (IDEA) include:

Description	Code
Unilaterally removed to an interim alternative educational setting by school personnel (not the IEP team) for drugs, weapon, or serious bodily injury.	REMDW
Removed to an interim alternative educational setting based on a hearing officer finding that there is substantial likelihood of injury to the child or others.	REMHO

For Full EDFacts FS005 file visit:

EDFACTS

FS007

Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Reasons for Unilateral Removal

Primary Disability

The primary disability identified in a student’s IEP. The disability code set is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

AUT

EMN

SLD

SLI

TBI

OHI

Autism

Deaf-blindness

Developmental delay

Emotional disturbance

Hearing Impairment

Intellectual disability

Multiple disabilities

Orthopedic impairment

Specific learning disability

Speech or language impairment

Traumatic brain injury

Visual impairment

Other health impairment

English Learner Status

An indication of whether a student meets the definition of an English Learner at the time of removal.

LEP

NLEP

English learner

Non-English learner

Race/Ethnicity

The general racial category that most clearly reflects individuals’ recognition of their community or with which the individuals most identify:

AM7

AS7

BL7

HI7

PI7

WH7

MU7

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Sex

An indication that students are either female or male.

Female

Male

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Purpose

This file specification is used to collect the number of times children with disabilities (IDEA) who were ages 3 through 21 and unilaterally removed by school personnel (not the IEP team) from their current educational placement to an interim alternative educational setting (determined by the IEP team) due to drug or weapon offenses or serious bodily injury. EDFacts FS007 is submitted for both the SEA and LEA level.

Guidance

Students to report

Report children with disabilities (IDEA) as defined in the EDFacts Workbook who were ages 3 through 21 as of the child count date and were subject to unilateral removal by school personnel for drugs or weapon offenses or serious bodily injury.

Instances in which school personnel (not the IEP team) order the removal of children with disabilities from their current educational placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days.
The IEP team is responsible for determining the interim alternative educational setting.
Unilateral removals do not include decisions made by the IEP team to change a student’s placement.

SEAs submit the file with the child’s primary disability category, English Learner status, Race/Ethnicity and Sex.

Students to exclude

Students who were moved from their current educational placement as a result of a decision by the IEP team to change a student’s placement.

For example, if following a discipline offense, the IEP team meets and determines that the child’s current placement is not the least restrictive environment for that child, and therefore makes a permanent change in the child’s IEP placement, do not report the child in this file.

Parentally placed private school students.
Students who are removed by school personnel for drugs, weapons, or serious bodily injury and were not sent to an interim alternative educational setting. (These students should be reported in FS006 as having been suspended.)

What type of count is this?

This file is a count of removals by type of offense. If a removal was triggered by more than one type of offense, the removal would be reported in this file more than once.

For example, if a student was removed because the student committed both a drug offense and a weapon offense, the removal would be reported twice.

What is a unilateral removal?

Instances in which school personnel (not the IEP team) order the removal of children with disabilities from their current educational placement to an appropriate interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days. The IEP team is responsible for determining the interim alternative educational setting. Unilateral removals do not include decisions by the IEP team to change a student’s placement.

How are counts reported at the LEA Level?

Report removals at the LEA that has responsibility for the student’s IEP.

Interim Removal Reason

The reasons why children with disabilities (IDEA) were unilaterally removed from their current educational placement to an interim alternative educational setting.

Reason	Code
Drugs	D
Weapons	W
Serious Bodily Injury	SBI

For Full EDFacts FS007 file visit:

EDFACTS

FS006

Children with Disabilities (IDEA) Suspensions/Expulsions

Primary Disability

The primary disability identified in a student’s IEP. The disability code set is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

AUT

EMN

SLD

SLI

TBI

OHI

Autism

Deaf-blindness

Developmental delay

Emotional disturbance

Hearing Impairment

Intellectual disability

Multiple disabilities

Orthopedic impairment

Specific learning disability

Speech or language impairment

Traumatic brain injury

Visual impairment

Other health impairment

English Learner Status

An indication of whether a student meets the definition of an English Learner at the time of removal.

LEP

NLEP

English learner

Non-English learner

Race/Ethnicity

The general racial category that most clearly reflects individuals’ recognition of their community or with which the individuals most identify:

AM7

AS7

BL7

HI7

PI7

WH7

MU7

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Two or more races

Sex

An indication that students are either female or male.

Female

Male

collapse all

Purpose

This file specification is used to collect the number of children with disabilities (IDEA) who are ages 3 through 21 and suspended or expelled for disciplinary reasons. EDFacts FS006 is submitted for both the SEA and LEA level.

Guidance

Students to report

Report children with disabilities (IDEA) as defined in the EDFacts Workbook who were ages 3 through 21 as of the child count date and were subject to:

out-of-school suspension or expulsion
in-school suspension

Students who are removed by school personnel for drugs, weapon or serious bodily injury and were not sent to an interim alternative educational setting should be reported as having been suspended.

Include students who are suspended pending an IEP team meeting in which the students’ IEP placements are changed.

In instances in which the IEP team meets to determine the appropriate setting where the student will receive educational services following an expulsion, out-of-school suspension or in-school suspension, the removal must be included in this file.

SEAs submit the file with the child’s primary disability category, English Learner status, Race/Ethnicity and Sex.

Students to exclude

Students who were moved from their current educational placement as a result of a decision by the IEP team to change a student’s placement.

For example, if following a discipline offense, the IEP team meets and determines that the child’s current placement is not the least restrictive environment for that child, and therefore makes a permanent change in the child’s IEP placement, do not report the child in this file.

Students who have cumulatively been suspended for less than half a school day.
Exclude parentally placed private school students.

What is a disciplinary removal?

Any instance in which a child with a disability is removed from his/her educational placement for disciplinary purposes, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, expulsion, removal by school personnel to an interim alternative educational setting for drugs or weapon offenses or serious bodily injury, and removal by hearing officer for likely injury to the child or others.

Discipline Method

The type of suspension or expulsion used for the discipline of children with disabilities.

Discipline Method	Code
Out of School Suspensions/Expulsions – removal from regular school for disciplinary purposes temporarily, for the remainder of the school year, or longer according to LEA policy	OUTOFSCHOOL
In School Suspensions – temporary removal from regular classroom(s) for disciplinary purposes but still under supervision of school personnel	INSCHOOL

How are cumulative days counted?

Students who have cumulatively been suspended for a half a day or longer should be reported. States that are unable to record data on a half-day basis should count all half-day suspensions as whole-day suspensions.

How are students reported by removal length?

Students are reported for out-of-school suspensions or expulsions separately from in-school suspensions.

Removal Length

The cumulative number of days children with disabilities (IDEA) were suspended or expelled during the school year for disciplinary reasons.

Cumulative Days of Removal	Code
10 days or less during school year	LTOREQ10
More than 10 days during the school year	GREATER10

For Full EDFacts FS006 file visit:

EDFACTS

FS144

Children With or Without Disabilities

Educational Services During Expulsion

Disability Status (IDEA)

An indication of whether children (students) are children with disabilities (IDEA).

WDIS

WODIS

Children with one or more disabilities (IDEA)

Children without disabilities

Educational Services

An indication of whether children (students) received educational services when removed from the regular school program for disciplinary reasons.

SERVPROV

SERVNOTPROV

Received educational services

Did not receive educational services

Definition of Expulsion

An action taken by the local educational agency (LEA) removing a child from his/her regular school for disciplinary purposes for the remainder of the school year or longer in accordance with LEA policy.

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Purpose

This file specification is used to collect the unduplicated number of children (students) who were removed for disciplinary reasons from their regular school program for the remainder of the school year or longer, including all removals resulting from violations of the Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) of 1994. EDFacts FS144 is submitted for both the SEA level and LEA level.

Guidance

Students to report

Report students in grades K through 12 without disabilities and children with disabilities (IDEA), ages 3 through 21 as of the child count date who were expelled from their regular school for disciplinary purposes. SEAs submit the file with the disability status and provision of educational services.

Students to exclude

Exclude parentally placed private school students.

How are student counts reported by disability status(IDEA)?

Students who meet the definition of children with disabilities (IDEA) in the EDFacts Workbook should be reported as disability status, except those students who were parentally placed in private schools. Students who do not meet that definition should be reported as no disability status.

Which children with disabilities (IDEA) are required to receive educational services after being expelled from regular school?

All children with disabilities (IDEA) must receive educational services during any removal of more than 10 school days.

For Full EDFacts FS144 file visit:

Data Quality Questions to Consider

Consider the following questions before submitting your EDFacts files. States must submit EDFacts files annually through the EDFacts Submission System (ESS) on or before the first Wednesday in November. Go to ed.gov/edfacts for more detail about file due dates.

Did you report zeros in categories, applicable to your state, for which you took a count?
Did you report counts only in the categories the state uses, according to the information the state entered in the EMAPS IDEA State Supplemental Survey (SSS-IDEA)?
Do your category counts equal your subtotals and grand totals within each EDFacts file?
How do you support LEAs in consistently using discipline data definitions, including preschool discipline data definitions?
How do you validate discipline data at the SEA level? How do you distinguish between outliers and invalid data?
If your SEA encounters an anomaly, what is your process for deciding how to count and report these discipline incidents?

Reporting IDEA Discipline Data

Federal and state required public reporting

Part B Annual Performance Report (APR)
Indicator 4 – Discipline measure of significant discrepancy

Component in your state’s determination of whether LEAs must reserve 15 percent of the IDEA federal allocations to implement Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) due to significant disproportionality

Enhanced Pre-submission Edit Check Tool for IDEA 618 Part B Discipline Data

IDEA Data Quality: Outlier Analyses Tools

IDEA Part B Discipline Data Collection Questions and Answers

For full EDFacts system documentation, visit the U.S. Department of Education website.