Summary of Seclusion and Restraint Statutes, Regulations, Policies and Guidance, by State and Territory: Information as Reported to the Regional Comprehensive Centers and Gathered from Other Sources (ms word)

Summary of Seclusion and Restraint Statutes, Regulations, Policies and Guidance, by State and Territory

This section includes the descriptive information verified by each state and territory. Additional information can be found at the URLs provided in a specific state profile, or by contacting the state directly. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, enterprise or policy mentioned in this section, on a state’s Web site or other URL included in this section is intended or should be inferred. All Web addresses consulted or listed within this section were operational as of December 2009, unless otherwise noted.

Alabama

Government Accountability Office Report	State Web Site Search	Additional Information Provided by State Education Agency (SEA) Staff
Ala. Code § 16-1-14 (Education; General Provisions Local school boards may prescribe rules and regulations, subject to State Board of Education approval, that isolate or separate pupils who create disciplinary problems in any classroom or other school activity and whose presence in the class may be detrimental to the best interest and welfare of the class as a whole.	Alabama Administrative Code (Ch. 290-8-9) “Special Education Services” effective May 19, 2009, contains nothing regarding restraint and seclusion. Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program (ADAP) released a report in June about the use of restraint in Alabama schools.	In the fall of 2008, Special Education Services, Alabama State Department of Education began development of a policy to clarify the permissible use of seclusion and restraint in public schools with an emphasis on positive behavioral supports and management of student behavior. A draft version of a policy for only students with disabilities was developed. (See Version One Draft Policy.) This version was presented to the Alabama Special Education Advisory Council on June 2, 2009. The Council approved the draft policy but asked the State Department of Education to consider using their approved policy version as a basis for developing a policy for all students, including students with disabilities. As a result, a second version was developed and the policy was shared with section directors across the State Department of Education. The Prevention and Support Section of the Department was designated as the lead section for this policy. At the same time, both versions of the seclusion and restraint policy were shared with local education agency special education coordinators and prevention and support coordinators across the state for comment. Both documents were also shared with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and Alabama Parent Education Center. The comment period will end at the end of August.

Technical assistance is requested to review draft policy and make recommendations as appropriate.

Does SEA plan to develop, review or revise statutes, policies or guidelines? Yes. As discussed, a draft seclusion and restraint policy for all students will be presented to the Alabama State Board of Education for consideration of adoption this fall. (See Version Two Draft Policy.) At that time, a public comment period will be provided. It is expected that the draft policy will be adopted by the Alabama State Board of Education by the end of July 2010 with immediate implementation across the state.

Alaska

The state of Alaska has limited coverage of issues concerning the use of restraint and seclusion in K–12 schools. The applicable statutes and regulatory requirements are likely limited due largely to the fact that there are few requirements at the federal level in relation to public pre-K/K–12 education’s use of restraint and seclusion. The applicable statutes/regulations are as follows:

AS 14.33.120. School Disciplinary and Safety Program.

AS 11.81.430. Justification: Use of Force, Special Relationships.

AS 14.07.020. Duties of the Department.

4 AAC 07.010. Establishment of district guidelines and procedures

4 AAC 07.900. Definition

Policies concerning the application of these requirements for public school general populations are left to individual school districts. For students with disabilities, the Alaska State Special Education Handbook provides some guidance concerning the use of restraint and seclusion, but this guidance is limited due to the requirement of the IEP team to develop individualized plans to address behavior (Behavior Intervention Plan, or BIP) with clear identification of the details in which such actions will be used and with supporting documentation. Part IV, Section 12 of the Alaska State Special Education Handbook identifies much of the implementation of a BIP, but does not address specifically the use of restraint and seclusion. It is acknowledged that restraint and seclusion are very serious issues, but are necessary for a fractional portion of student populations. Addressing the use of means necessary to protect a student under special circumstances are intended to be addressed in an individualized, case-by-case basis. This information is referenced in Appendix J of the Handbook.

In partnership with the Department’s Special Education Advisory Panel, the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education developed and sent a survey to Special Education Directors throughout the state. The purpose of the survey is to better determine the current level of involvement each school district has in restraint and seclusion. Survey results have 100% response rates unless otherwise noted. The survey results are as follows.

Restraint: Defined as any manual method, physical or mechanical device, material or equipment that immobilizes or reduces the ability of an individual to move his or her arms, legs, body or head freely

1. 
   Does your district/school have restraint procedures in place? If yes, how does your district check on whether these procedures are being followed? 46% Yes
   
2. 
   Does your district use a form to report each incident of restraint? 33% Yes
   
3. 
   Who most often restrains students in your district?
   

• 
  Principal 34%
  
• 
  Assistant principal 14%
  
• 
  Regular education teacher 20%
  
• 
  Special education teacher 60%
  
• 
  Teacher’s assistant 34%
  
• 
  School security staff 15%
  
• 
  Other 15%
  

Results allowed for multiple selection, presenting greater than 100% results

4. 
   Does school staff contact the student’s parents/guardian after each incident of restraint? 70% Yes
   

Seclusion: Defined as the involuntary confinement of an individual alone in a room or area from which the individual is physically prevented from leaving

1. 
   Does your district/school have seclusion procedures in place? If yes, how does your district check on whether these procedures are being followed? 45% Yes
   
2. 
   Does your district use a form to report each incident of seclusion? 20% Yes
   
3. 
   Who most often puts students in seclusion at your district?
   

• 
  Principal 45%
  
• 
  Assistant principal 15%
  
• 
  Regular education teacher 15%
  
• 
  Special education teacher 50%
  
• 
  Teacher’s assistant 15%
  
• 
  School security staff 10%
  
• 
  Other (please describe) 15%
  

Results allowed for multiple selection, presenting greater than 100% results

4. 
   Do you contact the student’s parents/guardian after each incident of seclusion? 70% Yes
   

Training

1. 
   Has your staff been trained to do restraints? 50% Yes
   

If so, what methodology/system do you use?

• 
  MANDT 59%
  
• 
  CPI 91%
  
• 
  Other 0%
  

2. 
   Who is trained at each school?
   

1. 
   Principal 50%
   
2. 
   Assistant Principal 32%
   
3. 
   Regular education teachers 44%
   
4. 
   Special education teachers 72%
   
5. 
   School security staff 12%
   
6. 
   Teacher assistants 43%
   
7. 
   Bus drivers 11%
   
8. 
   Secretary 5%
   
9. 
   Others 28%
   

Results allowed for multiple selection, presenting greater than 100% results

3. 
   What is the amount of training school staff (who restrain/seclude students) have received in the last two years (August 2007–June 2009):
   

1. 
   0–2 hours 50%
   
2. 
   3–5 hours 0%
   
3. 
   6–8 hours 5%
   
4. 
   1–2 days 15%
   
5. 
   More than 2 days 15%
   
6. 
   Other 15%
   

4. 
   What type of training was provided? (click all that apply)
   

1. 
   None 37%
   
2. 
   District in-service by district staff 48%
   
3. 
   District in-service by outside consultants 11%
   
4. 
   Training at a state conference 0%
   
5. 
   Training at an out of state conference 11%
   
6. 
   Other 0%
   

Results allowed for multiple selection, presenting greater than 100% results

5. 
   What professional development or training would help you reduce the number of restraints or seclusion incidents in your school? (Ranked in order of importance, percentages exceed 100%)
   

7. 
   Schoolwide positive behavior support program from outside consultant 42%
   
8. 
   Train-the-trainer program sponsored by Department of Education and Early Development on schoolwide Positive
   Behavioral Supports (PBS) 50%
   
9. 
   Ongoing/as-needed technical assistance from a state PBS trainer 6%
   
10. 
    University of Alaska Anchorage distance education class on PBS for continuing education credit (CEU) 15%
    
11. 
    Online/e-module of basic PBS training for new staff 10%
    

Results allowed for multiple selection, presenting greater than 100% results

This survey was voluntary and the results do not reflect an accurate representation of the state’s geographical population core.

There has never been a reported incident of fatality or injury as a result of the use of restraint or seclusion in Alaska. Alaska is one of 23 states that currently have no specific restrictions on the use of restraint and seclusion in the pre-K/K–12 school setting. Despite these facts, Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development believes that now is an opportune time to initiate regulatory requirements to ensure that such an incident never occurs. At this point, it would be beneficial for the federal government to require each state to independently address the use of restraint and seclusion in public schools with, as a minimum, a specific course of action to prevent the incident of injury or death to all students of that state.

This information is the current status of the Department’s steps toward updating practices of the use of restraint and seclusion in Pre-K/K–12 public schools. It is not intended to be a plan of action or viewed as an official policy change at this time. For specific information concerning current practices regarding this issue, please feel free to contact the Director of Special Education, Art Arnold, at [phone], or the special education director of the school district in question.