Whether the teacher is punished for the expression would be up to the administrator and would depend on how and why the complaint was made. If the teacher feels that the students needs are not being meet, then the administrator should contact the case manager for those students and determine if the law is being broken by not meeting the needs of the students per their IEPs. In this case the teacher is looking out for those students and he or she is expressing true concern, not something to be punished for. Student placement is determined by the team members who are evaluating the students needs. If a team determines that a student should be placed in a self-contained classroom setting and this is the least restrictive environment for that student, the student should never be placed in mainstream classrooms no matter of staffing issues at the school. This would be a violation of Federal law and the teacher expressing this fact should not be punished.

If it is determined that the students need to be placed in a special education setting to meet their educational needs and are not that is against the law and needs to be corrected immediately. The teacher should not be punished for her statement she is trying to save the school from legal action. The administration should take action.

If the IEP committee determined that the students should be placed in a general setting, then it is the teacher's responsibility to uphold the IEP and provide any accommodations or modifications outlined in the IEP. Rather than being punished for the complaint, the principal should ensure that the teacher is capable of properly implementing the IEP with the support of the students' case managers. If the teacher is providing appropriate support and students are still not being successful, she may need to ask for and IEP meeting to find out how to better serve the child in the general ed classroom or consider a different placement.

If the teacher truly believes that student's needs are not being met and has genuine concerns that laws are being violated by them being in mainstream classrooms, I do not believe they should be punished for expressing that concern. If the teacher is truly concerned for the student, they should collect some data on the student's performance in their class and bring it up with the child's case manager.