Stay put
Last updated
Stay put is the IDEA rule that a child generally remains in the current educational placement while a due process complaint is pending.
Topic: IDEA, law and procedure
In plain terms
Stay put, also called the pendency rule, keeps things stable while a dispute is resolved. Unless the parents and the school agree otherwise, the child stays in the placement and services described in the last agreed IEP until the hearing and any appeals end. There are exceptions, especially in some discipline cases involving weapons, drugs or serious bodily injury, where a student can be placed in an interim alternative setting.
How it shows up in an IEP
During stay put, the teacher keeps implementing the last agreed IEP, including its goals and service minutes, and keeps collecting progress data. That data often matters when the dispute is decided.
Example
A district proposes moving a student to a separate class, and the family files for due process. The student remains in the co-taught class with the same supports while the case is pending.
The rule
Federal reference: 34 CFR §300.518.
Related terms
- Due process complaintA due process complaint is a formal request for a hearing before an impartial officer to resolve a special education dispute between a family and a school.
- Procedural safeguardsProcedural safeguards are the rights IDEA gives parents and students, and the steps schools must follow, to keep special education decisions fair.
- Manifestation determinationA manifestation determination is a review that decides whether a student's conduct was caused by the disability or by a failure to implement the IEP.
- Continuum of alternative placementsThe continuum of alternative placements is the range of settings, from general education to home or hospital instruction, that districts must have available.
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