Category: Behavior Management

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Empowering Students to Respond to #DeviousLicks

Introduction

The social media trend known as #DeviousLicks has infiltrated schools, prompting students to engage in acts of vandalism and theft. While some view this phenomenon as a harmless prank, the resulting damages can have severe consequences for students, schools, and communities. Empowering students to counteract this trend is crucial for maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment.

1. Generating Awareness

First and foremost, students need to be educated about the potential consequences of participating in #DeviousLicks. Teachers, administrators, and parents can develop informative presentations about the legal repercussions of vandalism and theft. Besides targeting potential participants, such information should also reach their peers who may influence these individuals or report any suspicious activity.

2. Open Communication

Creating an open communication environment in school is essential for countering the #DeviousLicks trend. Students should feel comfortable discussing issues related to peer pressure and social media challenges with their teachers and classmates. Incorporating conversations about responsible social media use into classroom discussions can help normalize appropriate behavior online.

3. Establishing a Supportive School Community

Fostering a sense of belonging and community among students will ensure that they feel supported by their peers rather than compelled to impress them through destructive pranks. Encourage student organizations to develop campaigns or programs that promote positive values, like respect for school property and empathy towards staff members who must deal with the aftermath of vandalism.

4. Encouraging Positive Role Models

Highlighting positive role models within the student body can influence others to act responsibly. Recognize outstanding students for their achievements in academics, athletics, or citizenship, reinforcing that positive behaviors lead to success and admiration from their peers.

5. Channeling Creativity Constructively

Adolescents are often drawn to exciting challenges or stunts that test their boundaries. Providing them with safe outlets to express their creativity is crucial for minimizing destructive impulses. Organize school-wide events such as talent shows, art contests, or group projects to give students opportunities to showcase their skills and passions in a positive manner.

6. Promoting Accountability

To truly empower students to stand up against #DeviousLicks, they should be aware of the consequences for participating in these acts. Schools must enforce clear and consistent policies regarding vandalism and theft and emphasize that all students have a responsibility to maintain a respectful learning environment.

Conclusion

The #DeviousLicks trend poses a genuine challenge for schools, educators, and students. Empowering students to counteract this phenomenon involves fostering a sense of community, promoting open communication, and providing creative outlets for self-expression. By actively engaging with these challenges, schools can help build environments where destructive impulses are replaced with positive behaviors that encourage learning, respect, and growth.

Ultimately, peer influence will play the most significant role in discouraging participation in trends like #DeviousLicks. When students collectively promote respect for school property and support one another in making responsible choices, destructive forces like the #DeviousLicks trend can be dismantled from within.

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Principal Hotline: How Do I Manage School Cafeteria Behavior

Introduction

Managing student behavior is a key responsibility for school administrators, and the cafeteria is no exception. With the wide variety of personalities and social dynamics at play, it can be challenging to maintain a positive environment where students can both enjoy their meal and engage in healthy social interactions. In this article, we’ll explore some effective strategies for managing school cafeteria behavior and creating an environment that promotes a sense of belonging, respect, and cooperation among students.

1. Establish Clear Expectations

To cultivate a positive atmosphere within the cafeteria, it’s crucial to set clear expectations for student behavior. Communicating these expectations consistently is key – consider adding posters or signage to reinforce the rules, and hold regular assemblies or class discussions to address specific behaviors.

Some rules might include:

– Using inside voices

– Staying seated while eating

– Cleaning up after oneself

– Showing respect to peers and staff members

2. Implement Seating Arrangements

Structured seating arrangements can go a long way toward preventing behavioral issues. Assigning students to specific tables encourages them to develop relationships with their peers and promotes inclusivity. Additionally, assigned seats permit easier monitoring of individual students’ behavior.

3. Staff Presence and Supervision

Dedicated staff should be present in the cafeteria at all times to enforce rules and model appropriate behavior. This provides students with reliable sources of authority to look up to, and they’ll be more likely to comply with behavioral expectations as a result.

4. Implement a Rewards System

Positive reinforcement can be highly effective in promoting good behavior in the cafeteria. For instance, you could introduce a rewards system that acknowledges good behavior on an individual or class level – perhaps by awarding points for cleanliness or politeness. As points accumulate, students could earn specific privileges or rewards.

5. Provide Purposeful Activities

Implementing purposeful activities during lunch breaks can help keep students engaged and ensure that excess energy is directed positively. Activities might include supervised games, access to computers or reading materials, or even clubs that meet at lunchtime.

6. Encourage Student Involvement

Empowering students to take ownership of their cafeteria experience is a powerful way to promote positive behavior. Involve students in decision-making processes by seeking their input on food choices, decorations, and even new strategies for fostering appropriate behavior.

7. Evaluate and Adjust

Periodically assess your cafeteria management plan to identify areas for improvement or adaptation. This might involve conducting surveys, soliciting feedback from staff and students, or monitoring behavioral trends over time.

Conclusion

Managing school cafeteria behavior is a complex task that requires ongoing effort and attention. By implementing clear expectations, providing adequate supervision, offering activities and rewards, and involving students in the process, administrators can foster an environment where positive behaviors are reinforced, and every student has the opportunity to thrive during their lunch break.

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21 Strategies to Help Students Who Need to Be Near You to Pay Attention

Are you looking for strategies to help students who need to be near you to pay attention? If so, keep reading.

1. Provide a consistent manner in which oral questions are asked and instructions are given.

2. Get the learner to take notes when instructions are being given following the “What, How, Learning materials, and On occasions where” format.

3. Talk regularly with the learner to help them pay attention to a source of the sound.

4. Praise the learner for paying attention to the information presented from any place in the classroom: (a) give the learner a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the learner an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).

5. Give instructions on a one-to-one basis before assigning a task.

6. Use the learner’s name to gain their attention prior to delivering directions, explanations, or instructions.

7. Praise those students who pay attention to information from any place in the classroom.

8. Provide mobility to assist the learner; regularly be near the learner, etc.

9. Provide all directions, questions, explanations, and instructions at an appropriate rate for the learner.

10. Provide simple, specific instructions as to what the learner is to do.

11. Do not criticize when correcting the learner; be honest yet compassionate. Never cause the learner to feel negatively about themselves.

12. Talk regularly with the learner to help them follow instructions for a learning experience.

13. Provide visibility to and from the learner to keep their attention when oral questions/instructions are being delivered. The teacher and the learner should be able to see each other at all times. Make eye contact possible at all times.

14. Do not give instructions to the learner from across the classroom. Go to the learner, get their full attention, and explain the instructions to him/her.

15. Separate at several points during the presentation of directions, explanations, or instructions to check the learner’s understanding of the information presented.

16. Provide a signal to gain the learner’s attention before delivering directions, explanations, or instructions (e.g., clap hands, turn lights off and on, etc.).

17. Place the learner near the source of information in the classroom. As the learner shows success, slowly move them away from the source of information.

18. Show instructions following the outline of (1) What, (2) How, (3) Learning materials, and (4) On occasions where.

19. Get the learner to listen and takes notes for “Who, What, Where, On occasions where, How, and Why” while ideas are presented.

20. Provide oral questions and instructions that involve only one step. As the learner shows success, slowly increase the number of ideas or steps.

21. Consider using assistive technology designed to help students to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to concentrate. Click here to view list of assistive technology apps that we recommend.

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19 Strategies to Teach Students to Behave Appropriately in the Presence of Other Educators

Are you looking for strategies to teach students to behave appropriately in the presence of other educators? If so, keep reading.

1. Develop an information packet for a substitute authority figure that includes all information pertaining to the classroom (e.g., learner roster, class schedule, class rules, behavior management techniques, class helpers, etc.).

2. Make sure that the learner knows that classroom rules and behavioral consequences are in effect when a substitute authority figure is in the classroom.

3. Indicate where all needed learning materials are located to maintain structure in the classroom.

4. Indicate several learning activities in which the learner can participate after finishing their work for the day.

5. Indicate the names of several staff members and where they can be located in case the substitute authority figure should need some assistance.

6. Notify the substitute authority figure of the classroom rules and the consequences if the rules are not followed by the learner.

7. Express the need for the substitute authority figure to keep consistent discipline while in and outside the classroom.

8. Notify the substitute authority figure of all privileges the students have both in and outside the classroom.

9. Get the learner to work on practice work (e.g., work that has already been taught to the learner and that they know how to do) to lessen frustration and feelings of failure.

10. Schedule 10 minutes at the beginning of the day for the substitute authority figure to create rapport with the students (e.g., introduce himself/herself to the class, learn the students’ names, talk about things the students enjoy doing, etc.).

11. Indicate to the learner that the substitute authority figure is in charge of the classroom at all times.

12. Plan a fun educational learning experience (e.g., computer games) during the day to give an incentive for the learner to remain on-task and behave appropriately.

13. Designate a special job for the learner to perform when there is a substitute authority figure in the classroom (e.g., substitute teacher’s assistant, line leader, class monitor, etc.). Notify the substitute authority figure of this “special job.”

14. Get the substitute authority figure to present instructions in an assortment of ways (e.g., orally, written, etc.).

15. Request a substitute authority figure who has the appropriate skills to handle problem behavior and special needs students.

16. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

17. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

18. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

19. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

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What are Internalizing Behaviors?

This is the act of directing energy (that are actually responses to issues) back to one’s self. This energy is usually negative and is a person’s response to issues instead of expressing themselves to others. Such behaviors typically include difficulty sleeping, cutting, eating too little or too much, anxiety, feeling depressed, abusing substance, as well as social withdrawal. Individuals who have been sexually, verbally, emotionally, or physically abused may also engage in such behaviors. 

For instance, a young boy, who has been bullied by a peer, may respond to the situation by blaming himself or withdrawing from social activities. Children who have experienced other forms of trauma, such as divorce, parental abandonment, or a loved one’s death, can also show internalizing behaviors.

Internalizing behaviors may trigger serious health problems for children, such as alcoholism, bulimia, drug addiction, obesity, or anorexia. Children who depend on internalizing behaviors as a coping mechanism may also find it difficult to form healthy relationships with others. Since they often direct their problematic energy inward to numb their emotional pain, they may feel disconnected from their loved ones, friends, and even themselves.

Unlike externalizing behaviors that affect other people directly and are noticed rather easily, internalizing behaviors tend to go unnoticed and are considered more “socially acceptable.” Sometimes, parents are at fault as they end up focusing exclusively on their child with externalizing behaviors while ignoring the signals of help sent out by another child who’s directing his pain inward. For instance, as parents, noticing a gain or loss of a significant amount of weight could indicate internalizing behavior. Another example is where the child seems to wear long clothes all the time, which may be a sign of covering up her self-inflicted cuts or wounds. Noticing subtler signs of distress is equally crucial. For instance, a child may suffer from symptoms like nausea, abdominal pain, or headaches that trigger emotional stress, which further exacerbates the displayed symptoms. The child may find it difficult to break this vicious cycle without help.

Once parents notice signs of internalizing behaviors, such as dramatic physical changes or visible cuts and bruises, they should speak to their children in a non-judgmental way. In case they observe clear signs of substance abuse like sluggishness, bloodshot eyes, disorientation, headaches, or nausea, they shouldn’t ignore the child. It’s important to accept that a child may have problems even if he doesn’t act outwardly. Feelings of being unloved, sadness, guilt, loneliness, not standing up for oneself, irritability or nervousness, fearfulness, and difficulty concentrating are all signs of internalized behaviors.

Children engaged in internalizing behaviors should get all the help they need. Parents should talk to a psychotherapist, their children’s school counselor, or other healthcare professionals to know how they can offer help and tools the children will need to create more positive coping mechanisms. In addition, psychotherapy (including cognitive-behavioral therapy) and counseling are effective ways to unearth the trauma or difficulties that have made the children cope by depending on internalizing behaviors. Early identification, intervention, and prevention via mitigation of risk factors are equally crucial in helping at-risk children.

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What are Externalizing Behaviors?

These are answers reflected outwardly to the issues a student has challenges addressing. These kinds of problems include antisocial and disruptive forms of behavior. Some examples are students disobeying rules and disturbing the class, stealing, cursing, fighting, defiance, vandalizing school property, threatening others, getting involved in underage drinking, running away from home, and showing physical aggression. Externalizing behaviors may also include relational aggression through hurtful words, gestures, and statements, like name-calling and spreading rumors.

Such problem behaviors are responses to the external environment. Students with externalizing behaviors fail to express their negative emotions or responses to life pressures in a productive or healthy way. Instead, they direct their feelings outward to other things or people. These students are usually troubled or facing other challenges in their lives and fall back on externalizing behaviors as their coping mechanism. 

For instance, some students may have personality disorders, mental illnesses, or learning disabilities. They take refuge in problem behaviors to divert attention from the fact that they’re having learning problems. For such students, being reprimanded by the teacher or kicked out of class may appear preferable to having their learning difficulties or disabilities exposed.

Birth complications, poor parenting, social adversity (like teenage pregnancy), or maternal rejection (such as a negative attitude to pregnancy) could also predispose students to externalized behavior problems. Biological risk factors too can trigger such behaviors. At the pre/perinatal stage, these include both maternal pathophysiological and genetic factors that may obstruct fetal growth and development. Examples of such factors include illness during pregnancy, maternal malnutrition, using alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, smoking, and a genetic predisposition to externalizing behavior from both parents. 

Thus, smoking during pregnancy that directly affects the central nervous system can cause enhanced externalizing behavior in the offspring. Compared to girls, boys are more prone to show obvious externalized behaviors like physical bullying. However, on the whole, aggression levels are similar between the sexes.

For students, externalizing behaviors can have serious consequences. On a mild level, they can invite teachers’ notes about the student’s disorderly conduct in class. However, they may escalate to school suspension, detention, or even expulsion. Since some schools have zero-tolerance policies toward bullying, drug use, or weapons, students engaging in these externalizing behaviors may find themselves being forced to leave school. Some with externalizing behaviors may even get arrested for assault, vandalism, or theft, which could signal the beginning of a lengthy and challenging journey in the criminal justice system if the behaviors aren’t corrected.

Whatever be the cause triggering students to show externalizing behaviors, it’s vital to reduce the risk factors and get professional help and intervention. Intervention approaches involving effective parenting, better prenatal care, or better social service can help reduce the risk factors associated with externalizing behaviors. Therapy, counseling, and evaluation for a learning disorder or disability are other steps to correct such behaviors. Parents should talk to their child’s school administrator or teacher to seek help or go to a licensed medical professional. The key is to identify, confront, and correct externalizing behaviors to bring students back on the right track.

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What are Maladaptive Behaviors?

These behaviors stop one’s ability to adapt to difficult or new circumstances. They are considered to be antisocial. Common examples of these behaviors are delayed social skill development, withdrawal, and aggression.

Such behaviors can begin after an illness, major life change, or traumatic event. They could even be habits picked by individuals at an early age. Maladaptive behaviors aren’t bad or ill behaviors. Rather, they’re a series of behaviors by an individual who acts and reacts inappropriately to external or internal stimuli. Abuse or addiction can also trigger maladaptive behaviors, as such behaviors try to reclaim equilibrium when the balance has been destroyed. If a demonstration of equilibrium never existed in the first place or, in other terms, there was never a “safe place,” there’s no baseline for the individual showing maladaptive behavior to move back to.

An example could make it easier to understand maladaptive behavior. Say, two children – Jack and John, belonging to different families, stop going to school suddenly. Since Jack practices healthy adaptation to change, he asks his parents questions like those below about changes in his schedule:

  •         What happened?
  •         Why have I stopped going to school?
  •         What will I be doing instead?
  •         Will you be staying at home with me?

In contrast, John, who engages in maladaptive behavior, throws himself to the ground, beats his fists on the floor, and screams. Although both the children are provoked by discomfort or fear, Jack navigates the new situation successfully, while John increases the sensations triggering the behaviors in the first place. This explains the moniker given to maladaptive behaviors: they aren’t just bad behaviors, but behaviors that don’t help or actively hinder individuals from changing, growing, and navigating the world around them.

Though maladaptive behaviors can be seen in people of all nationalities, ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses, some populations appear to be particularly prone to them. These include people with anxiety disorders, a poor family structure, personality and mood disorders, developmental delays, and a history of anger. These disorders and environments essentially act as breeding grounds for maladaptive behaviors because children whose solitary models for reacting have been maladaptive are expected to continue using these patterns. Children’s maladaptive behaviors are typically called tantrums or meltdowns, while they’re named disruptive or inappropriate behaviors in adults.

Children with maladaptive behaviors are less likely to have close friendships. They may alienate themselves from authority figures and peers and struggle to get the consideration or respect of their elders. Such behaviors can interfere with school, trigger trouble, and even make the students receive reprimands. These students may end up on the wrong side of the law if their maladaptive behaviors aren’t treated early enough.

Maladaptive behaviors almost always indicate a need for professional help but may go unnoticed until something serious happens. Evaluating the condition and deciding on potential treatment are excellent starting points to treat such behaviors. Though not all maladaptive behaviors might need extensive psychological treatment, it’s a legitimate line of questioning to find out why a person’s brain or body can’t cope with new or challenging situations productively.

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What is Intrinsically Motivating?

This is something that a student does without any form of external reward or motivation. The task here is done based on the characteristics of the task in itself. An easy example would be reading a book or playing soccer just because the student loves it.

The word ‘intrinsic’ stands for something inherent by nature. Thus, intrinsically motivating means something that motivates students from within and acts as an inner drive that propels them to get involved in an activity. When they’re intrinsically motivated, students pursue an activity just because the action itself is pleasurable, not to chase external rewards. In other words, students are motivated by the challenge, fun, or satisfaction involved with an activity, unlike an outside pressure, outcome, or reward associated with it.

There are two chief types of motivation – extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Being extrinsically motivated means performing an activity to achieve some distinguishable outcome, such as avoiding punishment or earning a reward. But intrinsic motivation is driven by internal rewards where students engage in an activity or behave in a specific way because it’s naturally satisfying. Together, extrinsic and intrinsic motivations answer the ‘why’ students (and other individuals) do what they do. Thus, they make up the underlying attitudes, reasons, and objectives that trigger human behavior.

Some examples of intrinsically motivating actions are:

  •         John studying mathematics because he enjoys solving problems, not because he wants to please his parents
  •         Joanna playing the piano because she loves making music, not to steer clear of punishment
  •         Stephen volunteering because he enjoys helping others, not because he wants others to like him
  •         Sonia taking a walk to feel relaxed, not because she wants to lose weight
  •         Jack saying ‘thank you’ often because he likes to show appreciation, not because he needs to follow social rules
  •         Damon rustling up a delicacy because he loves cooking, not because she’s hungry

Being intrinsically motivated is believed to be better than extrinsic motivation because students belonging to the former group are more likely to be​ committed, successful, persistent, and creative. Typically, they display a stronger sense of personal commitment, accomplish better results, and perform with a lot more determination while being less likely to give up when facing adverse situations. Intrinsically motivated students are also more creative and more prone to have unique ideas and solutions.

Intrinsically motivated students perform activities and tasks because they make them feel satisfied or happy. These feelings are what psychologists call internal rewards or intrinsic rewards. These intrinsic rewards drive intrinsic motivation. An example of intrinsic reward is the sense of competence when a student masters a new skill or task.

Some things students can do to practice better intrinsic motivation are:

  •         Looking for a fun element in the task at hand or finding ways to make the task fun and engaging
  •         Finding meaning in a task by focusing on its purpose, the value it’ll add to their lives, and how it’ll help others
  •         Challenging themselves by setting attainable goals that focus on mastering a skill, not external rewards
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What is a Behavioral Intervention Plan?

This is a plan to adjust the usual program of a child who has exhibited some form of troubling behavior. This strategy is one that is based on the results of a functional behavior assessment after keeping an eye on the child over a certain period and noticing problem behavior that needs to be addressed.

A behavioral intervention plan (BIP) should have three key elements, namely:

  1.     Identification of the baseline measure of problem behavior, including the targeted behaviors’ duration, frequency, latency, and/or intensity. Such baseline must, to the level it’s feasible, include data taken across settings, activities, times of the day, and people. Additionally, the baseline data must be used as a benchmark to ascertain performance criteria, against which the effectiveness of intervention measures will be evaluated;
  2.     Intervention strategies that are planned to be used to change antecedent events to avert the occurrence of the behavior, teach the student alternative and adaptive behaviors, and provide consequences for the targeted inapt behavior(s) and alternative tolerable behavior(s); and
  3.     A plan to determine the success of the interventions, including the targeted behaviors’ duration, frequency, and intensity at listed intervals.

To develop a behavioral intervention plan, the school will put together a team to examine the student’s behavior. The team may include the class teacher, the school psychologist, a clinical social worker, and a paraprofessional. This team will interview the student, the teachers, and other staff. They will also monitor the student over a certain period and talk to the family to understand what’s happening. They could even seek information from other adults who spend time with the student. Testing (like functional behavioral assessment) might be used too, along with a review of past incidents or report cards.

The emphasis of a behavioral intervention plan should be on good behaviors that can replace the targeted bad behaviors, when it’s doable. By creating a BIP, everyone can be in agreement when addressing the student’s behavioral issues. It’ll also enable counselors, behavior specialists, family members, teachers, and anyone else involved with the student to follow the same procedure while dealing with problem behavior. However, it’s important to remember that a BIP isn’t always a success at first.

Implementing a BIP for a student must consist of regular progress monitoring of the duration, frequency, and intensity of the behavioral interventions at planned intervals, as set out in the behavioral intervention plan. Such review and monitoring are crucial as students change over time, and the plan may need to be tweaked accordingly.

The results of the progress monitoring of a student’s behavioral intervention plan must be written and reported to the student’s parents and the CPSE (Committee on Preschool Special Education) or CSE (Committee on Special Education). They must be taken into account to decide if any revision in the BIP is needed. 

Though BIPs are effective, they don’t always work, primarily due to two reasons. First, if there’s a mismatch between the student’s behavior and the strategies adopted, it’ll fail. For instance, if a student is disturbing the class by talking to hide his reading difficulty, letting him take breaks won’t help. Second, outdated plans that haven’t been reviewed in a while and haven’t changed with the student will soon become useless.

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What is Functional Behavior Assessment?

This is a technique that relates the proper observation of a certain student to a personalized curriculum as a form of intervention. In other words, a functional behavior assessment (FBA) refers to a process that identifies a target behavior that obstructs a student’s education. The assessment tries to designate the specific behavior, spot the factors that support it, and find out the purpose of such behavior. 

This is followed by formulating an intervention plan and steps that teachers can implement and test to improve the student’s situation. Thus, with functional behavior assessment, a teaching plan can be developed that facilitates a more acceptable substitute behavior for the student, which would no longer hinder the student’s education.

For instance, Harry cracking jokes in the middle of his 4th-grade teacher’s lessons is extremely disruptive. The teacher runs an FBA and identifies the reason for Harry’s problematic behavior (getting the social approval of his peers). To replace his problematic behavior with acceptable behavior, the teacher decides to have a 5-minute break in the class, where Harry is allowed to say some of his jokes (that the teacher approves). This way, he can get the social acceptance and approval he desires without disrupting the teacher’s day.

Though FBA was initially designed for children with special needs like autism, it has been found useful with any child who shows a problem behavior that requires to be fixed. When a functional behavior assessment should be done is tricky as there’s no precise formula that indicates the right time for it. This assessment can be a useful tool whenever students display behaviors that inhibit or limit their ability to learn within a class or school framework. Thus, such assessments can be conducted when student behavior triggers concerns for teachers, parents, and other educational professionals and indicates some underlying emotional or behavioral issues. 

However, the problems and difficulties displayed by the students must be severe and not playful, such as behaviors that adversely affect their ability to learn. When combined with other interventional and corrective efforts, a functional behavior assessment can help understand the student’s circumstances. Such an assessment can be part of the SAT Process, the Individual Learning Plan, and as corroboration of a disability.

The functional behavior assessment can also be part of the IEP (Individual Education Plan). Such assessment can help to find or confirm a disability. The assessment information could be combined with other facts obtained by reports, observations, and discussions among teachers, parents, and learning specialists. The determination or verification of a disability is a decisive step for making suitable financial support and educational access available to the student. 

Under the IDEA – the country’s special education law for individuals with disabilities, federal rules offer local and state agencies federal funds to assure access to special education and related services to disabled children. The rules entail a written plan, known as the IEP plan. A similar segment of the law is the Rehabilitation Act’s section 504, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Both laws seek to place children with disabilities in an educationally productive setting with the least restrictive learning structure.