What is stay-put?

Quick answer

Stay-put is the pendency provision in IDEA. When you file a due process complaint, your child stays in the current educational placement with the services in the current IEP unless you and the district agree otherwise. The school cannot unilaterally change placement or cut services while the due process case is pending, except in limited discipline situations involving weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury.

What this means for parents

Stay-put is one of the most important protections in a due process case. It stops the school from changing the status quo while the dispute is resolved.

• Current placement means the last agreed-upon placement, not necessarily where the child is physically sitting today if the district already moved them without consent.
• The current IEP is the operative IEP for stay-put purposes, including services, accommodations, and supports listed in that plan.
• Stay-put applies when a due process complaint is filed. It does not automatically apply during a state complaint alone.
• Both parent and district can agree to a different interim placement or service plan during the dispute.
• In discipline cases involving weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury, the district may place the child in an interim alternative educational setting for up to 45 school days, even during due process.
• If the district violates stay-put by changing placement or stopping services, you may have an additional claim and grounds for expedited relief.

Questions about stay-put

Ask these when a dispute starts and whenever the school proposes a change during due process.

1. What is my child's current placement and operative IEP for stay-put purposes?
2. I filed due process on [date]. Please confirm that stay-put applies and that no placement or service changes will occur without my agreement.
3. The school proposed moving my child to [setting]. Is this a change from stay-put placement, and what prior written notice supports it?
4. If services are being missed during the dispute, how will the district maintain the IEP as written under stay-put?
5. In a discipline case, does the 45-day interim alternative setting exception apply, and what is the manifestation determination outcome?

Simple parent script

Common mistakes to avoid

• Letting the school change placement or services after filing due process because you did not object in writing.
• Assuming stay-put protects a placement you want but that was never agreed to or written into an IEP.
• Filing due process after already accepting a new placement, which may become the new stay-put baseline.
• Believing stay-put applies during a state complaint without filing due process.
• Not documenting missed services during stay-put, which can support compensatory education claims later.

When to get more help

Consider getting help immediately when the district changes placement or stops services after you file due process, you are unsure what counts as current placement in your case, discipline and stay-put overlap, or you need an expedited due process hearing to enforce pendency rights.