Here is the law that was enacted this year.
Print it out so that you have it for future reference.
A.R.S. § 15-105: Use of restraint and seclusion techniques; requirements; definitions
A. A school
may permit the use of restraint or seclusion techniques on any pupil if both of
the following apply:
1. The pupil’s behavior
presents an imminent danger of bodily harm to the pupil or others.
2. Less restrictive
interventions appear insufficient to mitigate the imminent danger of bodily
harm.
B. If
a restraint or seclusion technique is used on a pupil:
1. School personnel shall
maintain continuous visual observation and monitoring of the pupil while the
restraint or seclusion technique is in use.
2. The restraint or
seclusion technique shall end when the pupil’s behavior no longer presents an
imminent danger to the pupil or others.
3. The restraint or
seclusion technique shall be used only by school personnel who are trained in
the safe and effective use of restraint and seclusion techniques unless an
emergency situation does not allow sufficient time to summon trained personnel.
4. The restraint technique
employed may not impede the pupil’s ability to breathe.
5. The restraint technique
may not be out of proportion to the pupil’s age or physical condition.
C.
Schools may establish policies and procedures for the use of restraint or
seclusion techniques in a school safety or crisis intervention plan if the plan
is not specific to any individual pupil.
D.
Schools shall establish reporting and documentation procedures to be followed
when a restraint or seclusion technique has been used on a pupil. The
procedures shall include the following requirements:
1. School personnel shall
provide the pupil’s parent or guardian with written or oral notice on the same
day that the incident occurred, unless circumstances prevent same-day
notification. If the notice is not provided on the same day of the incident,
notice shall be given within twenty-four hours after the incident.
2. Within a reasonable time
following the incident, school personnel shall provide the pupil’s parent or
guardian with written documentation that includes information about any
persons, locations or activities that may have triggered the behavior, if known,
and specific information about the behavior and its precursors, the type of
restraint or seclusion technique used and the duration of its use.
3. Schools shall review
strategies used to address a pupil’s dangerous behavior if there has been
repeated use of restraint or seclusion techniques for the pupil during a school
year. The review shall include a review of the incidents in which restraint or
seclusion technique were used and an analysis of how future incidents may be
avoided, including whether the pupil requires a functional behavioral
assessment.
E. If
a school district or charter school summons law enforcement instead of using a
restraint or seclusion technique on a pupil, the school shall comply with the
reporting, documentation and review procedures established under subsection D
of this section. Notwithstanding this section, school resource officers are
authorized to respond to situations that present the imminent danger of bodily
harm according to protocols established by their law enforcement agency.
F.
This section does not prohibit schools from adopting policies pursuant to § 15-843, subsection
B, paragraph 3.
G. For
the purposes of this section:
1. “Restraint” means any
method or device that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a pupil to move the
pupil’s torso, arms, legs or head freely, including physical force or
mechanical devices. Restraint does not include any of the following:
(a) Methods or devices
implemented by trained school personnel or used by a pupil for the specific and
approved therapeutic or safety purposes for which the method or device is
designed and, if applicable, prescribed.
(b) The temporary touching
or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or back for the purpose of
inducing a pupil to comply with a reasonable request or to go to a safe
location.
(c) The brief holding of a
pupil by one adult for the purpose of calming or comforting the pupil.
(d) Physical force used to
take a weapon away from a pupil or to separate and remove a pupil from another
person when the pupil is engaged in a physical assault on another person.
2. “School” means a school
district, a charter school, a public or private special education school that
provides services to pupils placed by a public school, the Arizona state
schools for the deaf and the blind and a private school.
3. “Seclusion” means the
involuntary confinement of a pupil alone in a room from which egress is
prevented. Seclusion does not include the use of a voluntary behavior
management technique, including a timeout location, as part of a pupil’s
education plan, individual safety plan, behavioral plan or individualized
education program that involves the pupil’s separation from a larger group for
purposes of calming.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC
www.azspecialeducationlawyers.com
