seclusion and restraint 10-8-15icase.org/resources/documents/seclusion and...

Seclusion and Restraint

October 8, 2015Susan Traynor ChastainKaren Glasser SharpLewis & Kappes, P.C.

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Indiana Laws• Indiana has a Commission on Seclusion and Restraint in Schools• http://www.doe.in.gov/srcommission

• The IDOE website includes a video training series addressing the application of IC 20‐20‐40– http://www.doe.in.gov/srcommission/video‐series

• IC 20‐20‐40 provides for the establishment of the commission on seclusion and restraint in schools

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Indiana Laws

• IC 20‐20‐40 charges the commission with the responsibility for developing a model seclusion and restraint plan for Indiana

• This plan was developed by the commission, and the most recent version (dated 7‐9‐15) can be found online at:– http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/srcommission/model‐plan‐indiana‐commission‐restraint‐seclusion‐4‐15‐2015‐v2.pdf

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Indiana Laws

• IC 20‐20‐40 also lists the required elements for all seclusion and restraint plans, which are:

A. A statement on how students will be treated with dignity and respect and how appropriate student behavior will be promoted and taught.

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Indiana LawsB. A statement ensuring that the school will use

prevention, positive behavior intervention and support, and conflict deescalation to eliminate or minimize the need for use of any of the following:i. Seclusion;ii. Chemical restraint;iii. Mechanical restraint;iv. Physical restraint.

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Indiana Laws

C. A statement ensuring that any behavioral intervention used will be consistent with the student's most current behavioral intervention plan, or individualized education program, if applicable.

D. Definitions for restraint and seclusion, as defined in [IC 20‐20‐40].

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Indiana Laws

E. A statement ensuring that if a procedure listed in clause (B) is used, the procedure will be used:i. as a last resort safety procedure, employed only

after another, less restrictive procedure has been implemented without success; and

ii. in a situation in which there is an imminent risk of injury to the student, other students, school employees, or visitors to the school.

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Indiana LawsF. An indication that restraint or seclusion may be

used only for a short time period, or until the imminent risk of injury has passed.

G. A documentation and recording requirement governing instances in which procedures listed in clause (B) are used, including:i. how every incident will be documented and

debriefed;ii. how responsibilities will be assigned to designated

employees for evaluation and oversight; andiii. designation of a school employee to be the keeper

of such documents.8

Indiana Laws

H. A requirement that the student's parent must be notified as soon as possible when an incident involving the student occurs that includes use of procedures listed in clause (B).

I. A requirement that a copy of an incident report must be sent to the student's parent after the student is subject to a procedure listed in clause (B).

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Indiana LawsJ. Required recurrent training for appropriate

school employees on the appropriate use of effective alternatives to physical restraint and seclusion, including the use of positive behavioral intervention and support and conflict deescalation. The training must include the safe use of physical restraint and seclusion in incidents involving imminent danger or serious harm to the student, school employees, or others. Consideration must be given to available school resources and the time commitments of school employees

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Indiana Laws• You are required by law to have a plan, and it must include the required elements

• You are not required to have a policy – but you should consider adopting a policy as well as a plan

• The plan provides the specific details of how you will implement any policy governing seclusion and restraint

• It’s like the administrative guidelines for the policy

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Policy vs. Plan• NEOLA, Inc. has two alternative policies• One is very detailed and incorporates the commission’s model plan (not required by law!)

• The other simply requires the development of a plan that includes the elements required by IC 20‐20‐40 (required by law)

• Schools can elect which to adopt

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Plan Development• Be sure to check with the schools in your service area to ensure that they coordinate the development of their plans

• If their plans differ, make sure any employees working in those schools know and follow the plan of the school corporation where they are working

• If you are operating any facility providing educational services for students, you should develop your own plan as well

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Definitions

• All plans must include the definitions for restraint and seclusion that are contained in IC 20‐20‐40

• These definitions are important, and all staff should be familiar with the terms so that they know when to document an incident as a restraint or seclusion event.

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SECLUSIONIC 20‐20‐40‐9"Seclusion"Sec. 9. As used in this chapter, "seclusion" means the confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student physically is prevented from leaving. The term does not include a supervised time‐out or scheduled break, as described in a student's individualized education program, in which an adult is continuously present in the room with the student.

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SECLUSIONIC 20‐20‐40‐10"Time‐out"Sec. 10. As used in this chapter, "time‐out" means a behavior reduction procedure in which access to reinforcement is withdrawn for a certain period of time. Time‐out occurs when the ability of a student to receive normal reinforcement in the school environment is restricted.

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RESTRAINTIC 20‐20‐40‐5"Physical restraint"Sec. 5. (a) As used in this chapter, "physical restraint" means physical contact between a school employee and a student:(1) in which the student unwillingly participates; and(2) that involves the use of a manual hold to restrict freedom of movement of all or part of a student's body or to restrict normal access to the student's body.

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RESTRAINT(b) The term does not include:(1) briefly holding a student without undue force in order to calm or comfort the student, or to prevent unsafe behavior, such as running into traffic or engaging in a physical altercation;(2) physical escort; or(3) physical contact intended to gently assist or prompt a student in performing a task or to guide or assist a student from one (1) area to another.

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Commission Rules

• The commission adopted rules, which are published at Title 513 of the Indiana Administrative Code (IAC)

• The rules incorporate the definitions in IC 20‐20‐40

• It also adds these additional definitions:

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Commission Rules• "Crisis intervention training" refers to training provided to selected staff members that addresses how to deal with aggressive, violent, or out of control behaviors. The term includes specific techniques for seclusion and restraint.

• "Deescalation" means causing a situation to become more controlled, calm, and less dangerous, thus lessening the risk for injury to someone.

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Commission Rules

• "Functional behavior assessment" has the meaning set forth in 511 IAC 7‐32‐41.

• "Imminent" means likely to happen right away, within a matter of minutes.

• "Individualized education program" or "IEP" has the meaning set forth in 511 IAC 7‐32‐48.

• "Parent or guardian" has the same meaning set forth in IC 20‐18‐2‐13.

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Commission Rules

• "Prevention and conflict deescalationtraining" means training that is provided broadly to school staff on how to prevent, defuse, and deescalate potential behavioral crisis situations without physical contact between a school employee and a student.

• "Prone physical restraint" refers to when a person is being held face down on a horizontal surface such as the floor.

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Commission Rules

• "Restraint" encompasses chemical restraint, physical restraint, and mechanical restraint.

• "School" includes public, charter, and accredited nonpublic schools.– What about special education cooperatives?

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Commission Rules

• "Staff" means any person with regular direct contact with a student, including:

(1) paid staff;(2) volunteer;(3) contract employee;(4) consultant; or(5) any other agent;of a school corporation, charter school, or an accredited nonpublic school.

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Commission Rules• The classifications that meet the definition of “staff” (described above) “shall be determined by the school/local plan”

• For purposes of [the classification of “agent”], an agency relationship exists when there is:

(1) a manifestation of consent by the school to the agent;(2) an acceptance of the authority by the agent; and(3) control exerted by the school over the agent

– Could interlocal employees be “agents”?– Why does this matter?

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Commission Rules• "Substantial risk" means a situation where there is:(1) serious, imminent threat of bodily harm; and(2) the immediate ability to enact such harm.• "Supine physical restraint" refers to a person being held face up on a horizontal surface such as the floor.

• "Volunteer" means a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, has regular and direct contact with students, and donates time, energy, or talent to various phases of school programs under the direction and permission of school district personnel for which the person does not receive monetary compensation.

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Commission Rules

• Additionally, the Commission modified the definition of “mechanical restraint” in IC 20‐20‐40‐4 to add the following:

• “The term does not include a bus harness or other safety equipment that is used to restrain a student during transport when the harness or safety equipment is necessary for safety purposes as provided under 575 IAC 1.”

• 513 IAC 1‐1‐10

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Commission Rules

• The Commission likewise modified the definition of “physical restraint” in IC 20‐20‐40‐5 to add the following:

• “The term does not include the use of a bus harness or other safety equipment that is used to restrain a student during transport when the harness or safety equipment is necessary for safety purposes as provided under 575 IAC 1.”

• 513 IAC 1‐1‐12

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School Employee?• IC 20‐20‐40‐8: "school employee" means an individual employed by a school corporation or an accredited nonpublic school

• 513 IAC 1‐1‐18: "School employee" means any paid staff, contract employee, consultant, or any other agent of a school corporation, charter school, or an accredited nonpublic school

• Where are the cooperative employees?• Why is this definition important?

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IMMUNITYIC 20‐20‐40‐15ImmunitySec. 15. (a) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prevent a school employee from stopping a physical altercation, acting to prevent physical harm to a student or another individual, or acting to address an emergency until the emergency is over, whether or not the school employee has received training under this chapter.

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IMMUNITY

(b) This chapter may not be construed to give rise to a cause of action, either civil or criminal, against the state, the department, a school corporation, an accredited nonpublic school, the commission, or a member of the commission.

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IMMUNITY(c) In all matters relating to the plan adopted under section 14 of this chapter, school corporation or accredited nonpublic school personnel have qualified immunity with respect to an action taken to promote student conduct under a plan adopted under section 14 of this chapter if the action is taken in good faith and is reasonable.

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IMMUNITYDid the General Assembly intend to include cooperative employees too? Probably. They tend to forget that cooperatives exist. But due to the statutory language, there is potential for Parent/Student Attorneys to argue that cooperative employees are not covered by this immunity provision.

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Commission Rules

• 513 IAC 1‐2‐1 sets forth the scope of Article 1 of Title 513. Specifically, it applies to:

• All public school corporations, charter schools, or accredited nonpublic schools– No mention of cooperatives here

• All public school corporations, charter schools, or accredited nonpublic schools students regardless of whether student has been identified as eligible for special education services

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Commission Rules• All programs and services subject to the supervision of the state educational agency, including before and after school extracurricular activities programs conducted by or through the following:

(A) Public school corporations(B) Charter schools(C) Special education planning districts(D) State agencies(E) Other public agencies

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Commission Rules

• 513 IAC 1‐2‐1(b) provides: • “This article does not apply to any law enforcement officer, employed by a school, who is lawfully engaged in the execution of the officer's duties.”

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Commission RulesCommission’s principles (513 IAC 1‐2‐2):• Every effort should be made to prevent the need for the use of restraint and for the use of seclusion

• Any behavioral intervention must be consistent with the student's rights to be treated with dignity and to be free from abuse

• Policies restricting the use of restraint and seclusion should apply to all children, not just children with disabilities

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Commission Rules

Commission’s principles (cont.):• Physical restraint or seclusion should not be used except in situations where the student's behavior poses imminent risk of injury to self or others and other interventions are ineffective and should be discontinued as soon as imminent risk of injury to self or others has dissipated.

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Commission Rules

• 513 IAC 1‐2‐3: A school shall use prevention, positive behavior intervention and support, and conflict deescalation strategies to eliminate or minimize the need for the use of any of the following:

(1) Seclusion.(2) Chemical restraint.(3) Mechanical restraint.(4) Physical restraint.

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What is “prevention”? 513 IAC 1‐2‐4

• Every effort shall be made to prevent the need for the use of restraint or for the use of seclusion on a student

• Seclusion or physical restraint shall not be used except when used as a last resort in situations where:

1. the student's behavior poses imminent risk of injury to self or others; and

2. other less restrictive interventions are ineffective.

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What is “prevention”? 513 IAC 1‐2‐4

• Any use of seclusion or restraint:1. may only be used for a short period of time;

and2. shall be discontinued as soon as the

imminent risk of injury to self or others has dissipated

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513 IAC 1‐2‐5: Mechanical and chemical restraints prohibited

a) Except as provided in subsection (d), the use of mechanical restraints to restrict a student's freedom of movement is prohibited.

b) The use of any drug, medication, or other chemical to control behavior or restrict freedom of movement (except as authorized by a licensed physician or other qualified health care professional) is prohibited.

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513 IAC 1‐2‐5: Mechanical and chemical restraints prohibited

c) Schools shall never give a student any drug or medication that is not a standard treatment or dosage, or both, for the student's medical or psychiatric condition unless otherwise prescribed by a physician.

d) While transporting a student on a moving vehicle, a bus harness or other safety equipment may be required and is permissible for safety purposes. The use of any bus harness or safety equipment that is used to restrain a student during transportation must be documented.

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513 IAC 1‐2‐6: Training

a) Staff shall be trained according to the school's adopted plan on the appropriate use of effective alternatives to physical seclusion and restraint, such as positive behavioral interventions and supports, and, only for cases involving imminent risk of injury, on the safe use of physical seclusion and restraint.

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b) Each school shall identify appropriate school staff to be trained on the safe use of effective alternatives to physical seclusion and restraint. Recurrent training of staff should be done in accordance with the school's plan.

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c) Each school shall choose a training protocol that includes the following:1) Positive supports and behavioral interventions

techniques.2) Conflict deescalation techniques.3) The safe use of seclusion and restraint.4) Steps to avoid the use of seclusion or restraint.5) Debriefing practices and procedures.

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d) Training programs shall differentiate for levels of school personnel and training needs.

e) Each school must maintain documentation that includes the following information:1) The name and position of each person who has

completed training.2) Who provided the training.3) When the training was completed.4) What protocols and techniques were included in

the training.47


f) Training may be provided by any person who is trained in the current best practices of the protocols listed in subsection (c).

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513 IAC 1‐2‐7: Monitoring and reporting

a) Every instance in which seclusion or restraint is used shall be carefully and continuously visually monitored to ensure the safety of the following:1) The student.2) Other students.3) Teachers.4) Staff.

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b) Immediately after the student has restored emotional and behavioral control following the use of restraint or seclusion, or both, a staff member not involved with the incident shall examine the student to ascertain if any injury has been sustained during the seclusion or restraint.

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c) The building administrator or designee shall attempt to report every instance in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student to the student's parent or guardian:1) no later than the end of the school day or as

soon as practical;2) verbally; and3) in accordance with the seclusion and restraint

plan adopted by a school.

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d) Written notification, as described in the school's adopted plan, must also be sent to the student's parent or guardian after every instance in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student and shall be provided as soon as practical.

e) Public school corporations shall report the number of instances in which either seclusion or restraint is used in its annual performance report required by IC 20‐20‐8‐3.

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f) Each charter school shall report the number of instances in which either seclusion or restraint is used in its school to its sponsor. A charter school's sponsor shall report the number of instances in which a charter school has reported the use of either seclusion or restraint in its annual report, described in IC 20‐24‐9‐1.

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g) Each accredited nonpublic school shall report, in writing, the number of instances in which either seclusion or restraint is used in its school to its governing authority.

h) Each school must conduct an annual review of its plan for the purposes of improvement and revision

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513 IAC 1‐2‐8: Distribution

a) Each school shall make available a copy of the school's seclusion and restraint plan to the student's parents or guardians, or to the student if the student is at least eighteen (18) years of age and the provisions of 511 IAC 7‐43‐5(b) do not apply.

b) Including the location of the plan in the student handbook satisfies subsection (a).

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513 IAC 1‐2‐9: Incident documentation

a) Every instance in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student shall be documented in order to memorialize the events that led up the use of either seclusion or restraint.

b) Documentation may include the following:1) The student's name.2) The date and time of the incident.

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3) The duration of any seclusion or restraint or the beginning and ending times of the restraint or seclusion, or both.

4) A description of any relevant events leading up to the incident.

5) A description of the incident or student behavior that resulted in implementation of seclusion or restraint including a description of the danger of injury which resulted in the seclusion or restraint.

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6) A description of relevant interventions used immediately prior to the implementation of seclusion or restraint.

7) A summary of the student's behavior during seclusion or restraint, including a description of the restraint technique or techniques used and any other interaction between the student and staff.

8) A description of any injuries to students, staff, or others or property damage.

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9) A list of the school personnel who participated in the implementation, monitoring, and supervision of seclusion or restraint.

10) If applicable, a statement that the intervention used was consistent with the student's most current behavioral intervention plan or IEP.

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513 IAC 1‐2‐10 Debriefing session

a) As soon as practical, and consistent with the school's plan, after every instance in which seclusion or restraint is used on a student, the school administrator or designee shall do the following:1) Meet with at least one (1) school personnel who

participated in the implementation, monitoring, and supervision of seclusion or restraint to discuss whether proper restraint or seclusion procedures were followed, including the use of proper procedures to prevent the need for restraint or seclusion.

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2) Direct a proper staff person, including the administrator himself or herself, to debrief the incident with the student in a manner appropriate to the student's age and developmental ability, to discuss the behavior or behaviors, if any, that precipitated the use of restraint or seclusion.

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3) In accordance with the school's plan, provide a copy of an incident report and offer the parent or parents or guardians the opportunity to request a meeting regarding the incident of restraint or seclusion.

b) When applicable, the procedures described in 511 IAC 7‐44‐5 should be followed.

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513 IAC 1‐2‐11: Seclusion and restraint plan

• The Commission adopted verbatim the required elements for a restraint and seclusion plan contained in IC 20‐20‐40‐13(a)(2).

• These elements are discussed in the slides above.

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQs

QUESTION:• If our policy is not to restrain unless the student could be violent/danger to themselves or others, is placing a student in time out for not cooperating, not doing work, permissible or not, if that is what is written into the IEP?

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQsANSWER: IC 20‐20‐40‐9 & IC 20‐20‐40‐10• You may not use “seclusion” or “restraint” to discipline a student for noncompliance or to force compliance with staff commands.

• “ ‘Seclusion’ means the confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student physically is prevented from leaving. The term does not include a supervised time‐out or scheduled break, as described in a student's individualized education program, in which an adult is continuously present in the room with the student.”

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QUESTION:• What is the legal definition of restraint?

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQs ANSWER: IC 20‐20‐40‐5• (a) As used in this chapter, "physical restraint" means physical contact between a school employee and a student:– (1) in which the student unwillingly participates; and– (2) that involves the use of a manual hold to restrict freedom of movement of all or part of a student's body or to restrict normal access to the student's body.

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQsANSWER: IC 20‐20‐40‐5• (b) The term does not include:

– (1) briefly holding a student without undue force in order to calm or comfort the student, or to prevent unsafe behavior, such as running into traffic or engaging in a physical altercation;

– (2) physical escort; or– (3) physical contact intended to gently assist or prompt a student in performing a task or to guide or assist a student from one (1) area to another.

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QUESTION:• If I have a student (any student) that refuses to cooperate and is disrupting the educational environment, and is especially refusing my instructions to go to the office or other location, can I take hold of them and bring them to the office? Then is that a restraint?

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQsANSWER: IC 20‐20‐40‐5• That is not a restraint. The definition of “physical restraint” specifically excludes a physical escort

• You may guide the student to the office but may not put the student in a “hold” unless the circumstances permitting the use of a physical restraint are present.

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QUESTION:• When does a student leaving the building without permission become a situation where we need to restrain?

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQsANSWER: • An actual restraint hold should be used only if the student is a child of an age or type of disability (i.e., Autism or certain cognitive disabilities) where allowing the student to leave the building unescorted would pose imminent risk of danger to the student or others.

• Even then, it should be a last resort after other methods of de‐escalating the situation have been attempted without success.

• Keep in mind that “briefly holding a student without undue force . . . to prevent unsafe behavior, such as running into traffic” is excluded from the definition of “physical restraint”

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QUESTION:• We deal with disruptive/uncooperative students and we do not have working phone numbers that allow us to talk to parents of students that are frequently in the office due to discipline. Therefore, we have great difficulty communicating and establishing any parental support. When does that situation become child neglect?

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ANSWER: IC 20‐33‐8‐26• That is something that would be decided by the Department of Child Services and enforced by Child Protective Services. Typically DCS/CPS will not find that a parent has placed a child in danger unless the child is seriously delinquent, and the parent fails to cooperate with the process.

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• If a parent does not cooperate, a report can be made to CPS under IC 20‐33‐8‐26(b), which provides:

• “A dependent student is a child in need of services under IC 31‐34‐1‐7 if, before the student child becomes eighteen (18) years of age:

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Seclusion and Restraint FAQs– (1) the student's parent fails to participate in a disciplinary proceeding in connection with the student's improper behavior, as provided for by this section, if the behavior of the student has been repeatedly disruptive in the school; and

– (2) the student needs care, treatment, or rehabilitation that the child:• (A) is not receiving; and• (B) is unlikely to be provided or accepted without the coercive intervention of the court.”

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Payne v. Peninsula School District, 66 IDELR 3 (9th Cir. 2015)

• This Section 1983 lawsuit alleged violation of the student’s right under the 4th Amendment to be free from unreasonable seizure.

• Without deciding whether a special education teacher violated a 7‐year‐old boy's constitutional rights by placing him in a 63‐inch by 68‐inch "safe room" to manage his behavior, the 9th Circuit held that she was entitled to judgment on the parent's Section 1983 claims.

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• The District Court held in a decision reported at 61 IDELR 279 that the teacher should have known she was violating the child's constitutional rights when she allegedly locked him in a small, dark closet, and when she purportedly required him to clean up his own feces after he defecated in the safe room.

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• However, the 9th Circuit pointed out that the child's IEP authorized the teacher to place the student in the safe room, so long as the placement was not punitive, the door remained open, and an adult supervised the child. "[A]t the time [the teacher] acted, it would not have been clear to a reasonable official that placing [the child] in the safe room, as part of his aversive and behavioral intervention plan, was an unconstitutional seizure."

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• The court ruled that the confusion about the legality of the teacher's actions, resulting in large part from an IEP provision that conditionally authorized the teacher's use of the safe room, entitled the teacher to qualified immunity.

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• An educator is immune from suit under Section 1983 if her alleged misconduct did not violate the child's constitutional rights, or if those rights were not clearly established at the time of the incident in question.

• The 9th Circuit reversed the District Court's ruling to the extent it found the teacher was not entitled to qualified immunity and remanded the case for further proceedings on the parent's Section 1983 claims against the district.

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Penn‐Harris‐Madison Sch. Corp., 115 LRP 26423 (IN SEA April 28, 2015)

• Parent was unable to prove that an Indiana school district disregarded the BIP of a student with autism and Asperger syndrome when he presented dangerous behaviors during the 2014‐15 school year.

• IDOE upheld the Complaint Investigator’s determination that no IDEA violation occurred where the district properly "employed the strategies in the BIP to address the student's self‐injurious behavior."

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• Here, the parent alleged that when the student became overstimulated during PE on Sept. 18, 2014, the district failed to provide him with appropriate behavioral interventions.

• On the day of the incident, the student started to "bang his head" against the lockers near the gym after his aide attempted to take him back to the special education classroom.

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• The aide tried to stop the student's unsafe behaviors by utilizing the "reactive" calming techniques outlined in his BIP, such as offering him his prescribed medication and leading him to a quiet area.

• When the student failed to respond to those techniques, the aide followed the BIP's instructions by calling the student's "crisis team," which consisted of several administrators and the special education teacher.

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Penn‐Harris‐Madison Sch. Corp., 115 LRP 26423 (IN SEA April 28, 2015

• Although the parent argued that the crisis team improperly restrained the student when his behaviors continued to escalate, the IDOE opined that the team acted reasonably under the circumstances.

• It pointed out that the team had to briefly restrain the student to stop him from "flail[ing] and kick[ing],“ which could have caused him additional injuries.

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• "The intervention of [the crisis team] was appropriate, as the health, safety, and welfare of the student is the top priority when self‐injury is occuring.”

• The second issue in the complaint was whether the School ensured the school resource officer ("SRO") received training and education that would enable the SRO to appropriately deal with individuals with autism and Asperger's syndrome, citing IC 20‐26‐5‐31(b).

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IC 20‐26‐5‐31 School corporation police; autism and Asperger's syndrome training

• Sec. 31. (a) If a school corporation, including a school city (as defined in IC 20‐25‐2‐12), establishes a school corporation police department, the governing body of the school corporation shall adopt a policy that requires every individual appointed as a school corporation police officer to complete training and education, approved by the state board, that will enable the school corporation police officer to appropriately deal with individuals with autism and Asperger's syndrome.

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IC 20‐26‐5‐31 School corporation police; autism and Asperger's syndrome training

• (b) This subsection applies to a regular or special police officer who is assigned as a security police officer for a school corporation under IC 36‐8‐3‐7. The governing body of the school corporation to which the police officer is assigned shall ensure that the police officer receives training and education, approved by the state board, that will enable the police officer to appropriately deal with individuals with autism and Asperger's syndrome.

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• The IDOE found that the school did not violate IC 20‐26‐5‐31(b)

• In March 2014, the SRO attended training to appropriately deal with individuals with autism and Asperger's syndrome, provided by the county police department. The training consisted of a video presentation including the following autism issues for police officers: lack of fear of real danger, sensory over‐stimulation, wandering and other first contact issues, communications and behaviors, responding to the call, de‐escalation, restraint and arrest, interview, understanding legal rights, and vulnerability to street crime.

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Chapel Hill‐Carrboro (NC) City Schools, 66 IDELR 53 (OCR 2014)

• Although a parent expressed concerns regarding a North Carolina district's use of restraint and seclusion on a grade schooler with autism, OCR found no evidence that the district violated Section 504 and Title II.

• Observing that staff members appropriately secluded or restrained the fifth‐grader only when his behaviors posed a safety risk, OCR administratively closed the parent's complaint.

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• Parent alleged that, during the 2013‐14 school year, the district improperly used restraint and seclusion on the student instead of the positive behavioral interventions set forth in his BIP.

• Here, OCR noted that on March 21, 2014, the student's teacher placed him in the seclusion room for 20 minutes when he presented "tantrum‐like" behaviors in class, such as throwing a chair and overturning a wagon.

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• The evidence also showed that on March 28, 2014, staff members restrained the student for less than one minute when he attempted to hit others and banged his head on the sidewalk during a fire drill.

• OCR found that the district's actions on both occasions were "consistent with the district's own restraint and seclusion policy and with the [ED's] resource document on restraint/seclusion."

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• OCR noted that during each incident, the student engaged "in behavior that could injure the student, staff, or other nearby students.“

• Additionally, OCR observed that staff members restrained the student and placed him in seclusion only when positive interventions failed and only "until the student's behavior de‐escalated.“

• OCR administratively closed the matter.

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QUESTIONS?

Susan Traynor ChastainPhone: 317‐221‐8978Email: straynorchastain@lewis‐kappes.com

Karen Glasser SharpPhone: 317‐221‐8996Email: ksharp@lewis‐kappes.com

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