IDEA does not stop a school from reporting a crime, and a report does not stop the IEP. Here is what the regulation permits, what FERPA limits, and what to ask for if it happens to your family.
The phone call says there was an incident at school, the school resource officer was involved, and a report has been filed. Your child has an IEP, and you are left trying to sort out what the report means for their education.
One short regulation addresses this moment directly, and it draws two lines worth knowing: what the school may do, and what the school must do with your child's records.
Under 34 C.F.R. § 300.535(a), nothing in IDEA prohibits a district from reporting a crime committed by a child with a disability to appropriate authorities, and nothing in IDEA prevents state law enforcement and judicial authorities from exercising their responsibilities under federal and state law with regard to that crime.
Nothing in this part prohibits an agency from reporting a crime committed by a child with a disability to appropriate authorities or prevents State law enforcement and judicial authorities from exercising their responsibilities with regard to the application of Federal and State law to crimes committed by a child with a disability. ... An agency reporting a crime committed by a child with a disability must ensure that copies of the special education and disciplinary records of the child are transmitted for consideration by the appropriate authorities to whom the agency reports the crime.
34 C.F.R. § 300.535(a), (b)(1)
Read both halves. An IEP does not place a child outside the law, and a report to law enforcement does not place a child outside the IEP. The regulation holds those two facts together, which is exactly what a parent in this situation needs to do as well.
A district that reports a crime must ensure that copies of the child's special education and disciplinary records are transmitted for consideration by the appropriate authorities to whom it reports the crime (§ 300.535(b)(1)).
That duty carries a limit written into the next paragraph. The district may transmit those records only to the extent the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act permits (§ 300.535(b)(2)). FERPA generally requires parental consent before a school discloses education records, unless a specific exception applies. The two paragraphs read together mean the district is supposed to give the authorities context about the child, and every disclosure it makes must still fit within the same privacy law that governs all its other disclosures.
Ask for the school's written account of the incident, including the date, what happened, who was involved, and who made the report. A written account you receive now is worth more than anyone's recollection at a meeting months later.
Ask, in writing, which records were shared, with whom, and under what authority. If the district relied on your consent, you will know whether you gave it; if the district relied on a FERPA exception, you are entitled to ask which one.
Keep your own dated notes of every call and conversation, and save every document you receive. If the incident also involves a suspension or removal, note the dates and length, because removal days carry their own protections.
A report to law enforcement does not pause or reduce the district's obligations under your child's IEP. Services continue, the IEP team's duties continue, and school resource officer involvement does not suspend any of it. If the school also removes your child from their placement, the discipline protections in §§ 300.530 through 300.536, including the manifestation determination under § 300.530, apply on their own terms.
A court process and a school process can run at the same time, and the school process keeps its own rules regardless of what happens in the other one. This post is general information rather than legal advice; if your child is facing a delinquency or criminal matter, a special education attorney or your state's Parent Training and Information Center can advise on your specific case, and any attorney handling the court matter should know an IEP exists.
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Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities, 34 C.F.R. § 300.530 (2017).
Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities, 34 C.F.R. § 300.535 (2017).
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g (1974).
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004).
Keep reading
A child without an IEP can still claim IDEA's discipline protections if the district had reason to know about a disability before the incident occurred. A dated written concern is what creates that protection.
In most special education disputes, your child stays put while the case is heard. Discipline appeals flip that default, and knowing which way it points changes how you use the process.
If you disagree with a manifestation determination or a disciplinary placement, federal law gives you an appeal that runs on a faster clock than any other due process case.