Coverage
Applies to both
special education and regular education students.
Applies
to school staff, including independent contractors and their employees, and
student teachers. Does not apply to law enforcement officers working in the
school.
Definitions
Defines
“physical restraint” as a
restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to freely move
his or her torso, arms, legs, or head.
Defines “seclusion” as the involuntary confinement of a student, apart from
other students, in a room or area from which the student is physically
prevented from leaving.
Seclusion
Prohibits use of seclusion in public
schools, including charter schools, except when:
·
A student’s behavior presents a clear, present
and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or to others, and it is
the least restrictive intervention feasible;
·
The student has adequate access to the bathroom,
drinking water, required medications, and regularly scheduled meals; and
·
Seclusion is used no longer than necessary to
resolve the risk to the physical safety of the student or others.
A room may not be used for seclusion unless:
·
The room or area is free of objects or fixtures
that may cause injury,
·
There are no locks on the door, including hold
down type mechanisms that immediately release when pressure is removed, and
·
Meets all applicable school building code
requirements.
What is not considered seclusion?
Directing a disruptive student to
temporarily separate himself or herself from the activity in the classroom to
regain control is not considered seclusion unless the student is confined to an
area from which she or he is prevented from leaving.
Directing a student to temporarily
remain in the classroom to complete tasks while other students participate in
activities outside of the classroom is not considered seclusion unless the
student is confined to an area from which she or he is prevented from leaving.
Physical Restraint
Prohibits the use of physical
restraint in public schools, including charter schools, except when:
·
A student’s behavior presents a clear, present
and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or to others, and it is
the least restrictive intervention feasible;
·
There are no medical contraindications to its
use;
·
The degree of force and duration used do not
exceed what is necessary and reasonable to resolve the risk to the physical
safety of the student or others; and
·
No prohibited maneuver is used.
Prohibits
maneuvers or techniques that:
·
Do not give adequate attention and care to
protecting the pupil’s head;
·
Cause chest compression by placing pressure or
weight on the student’s chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back or abdomen,
·
Place pressure or weight on the student’s neck
or throat, on an artery, or on the back of the student’s head or neck, or that
otherwise obstruct the student’s circulation or breathing; and
·
Constitute corporal punishment
The Act prohibits mechanical or
chemical restraints. Supportive equipment that properly aligns a student’s
body, assists in maintaining balance, or assisting in mobility under the
oversight of appropriate medical staff is not mechanical restraint.
What is not considered physical restraint?
Briefly touching a student’s hand,
arm, shoulder or back to calm, comfort, or redirect the pupil is not considered
physical restraint.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Requirements
The first time that seclusion or
physical restraint is used on a student, the student’s IEP team must meet as
soon as possible after the incident.
The IEP team must review the student’s
IEP to make sure that it contains appropriate positive behavioral
interventions, supports, and other strategies to address the behavior, and
revise if necessary.
At anytime if the IEP team determines
that the use of seclusion or restraint may be reasonably anticipated for the
student, the IEP must include:
·
Appropriate positive interventions and supports
and other strategies that address the behavioral concerns based on a functional
behavioral assessment; and
·
Clear statements that the use of restraint
and/or seclusion may be used as an intervention.
Notification and Reporting Requirements
If seclusion and/or
physical restraint is used on a student at school, the principal or designee
must:
·
As soon as possible, but no later than 1 business
day after the incident, notify the student’s parent of the incident and of the
availability of the written report.
·
Within 2 business days after the incident, after
consulting with school staff present, prepare a written report containing all
of the following information:
o The
student’s name,
o The
date, time, and duration of the incident,
o A
description of the incident including a
description of the student’s behavior before and after the incident, and
o The
names and titles of school staff present during the incident.
·
The written report must be kept at the school
and made available for review by the student’s parents within 3 business days
of the incident.
Each year, by
September 1, the principal or designee must submit to the school board a report:
·
on the number of incidents of seclusion and
physical restraint in the previous year,
·
the total number of students involved in the
incidents, and
·
the total number of students with disabilities
involved in the incidents.
Training Requirements
Except as discussed below, no school
staff may use physical restraint unless he or she has received training that
includes:
·
Methods of preventing the need for physical
restraint;
·
Instruction in the identification and
description of dangerous behavior indicating the need for physical restraint,
and in methods of evaluating risk of harm to determine whether physical
restraint is needed;
·
Experience in administering and receiving
various types of physical restraint;
·
Instruction on the effects of physical restraint
on the person restrained, methods of monitoring signs of physical distress, and
techniques for determining when medical assistance may be needed;
·
Instruction in documenting and reporting
incidents of physical restraint; and
·
Demonstration of proficiency in administering
physical restraint.
Each school where physical restraint
may be used must have at least one staff member who has received training.
The school must keep a record of the
training received by the staff member(s) including information regarding how
long the training is considered valid by the training program.
Unforeseen Emergency Exception:
School staff who have not received the
prescribed training in physical restraint may use physical restraint on a
student at school:
·
only in an emergency, and
·
only if school staff members who have received
training are not immediately available.
Authority under other statutory provisions
Nothing in the Act affects the ability
of school staff to remove a student from class under current law (section
118.164 (3) (b) of the Wisconsin Statutes).
Nothing in the Act affects the ability
of school staff to use the exceptions to the prohibition on corporal punishment
under current law (section 118.31 (3) of the Wisconsin Statutes).
