Current through Register Vol. 24, December 20, 2024
(1)
Positive behavioral interventions based on the results of a functional
behavioral assessment shall serve as the foundation for any program utilizing
aversive procedures to address the behavioral needs of students. Aversive
treatment procedures may be appropriate for an individual student who exhibits
behaviors which pose a risk of physical harm to the student or others, or a
risk of significant damage to property, or significantly disruptive or
dangerous behaviors which cannot be modified solely through the use of positive
behavioral interventions. Aversive treatment procedures must be designed to
address the behavioral needs of an individual student, be approved by the IEP
team, and may not be used as punishment, for the convenience of staff, or as a
substitute for positive behavioral interventions.
(2) Aversive treatment procedures are defined
as:
(a) physical restraint, other than as
provided in
20-4-302,
MCA, when the IEP team has determined that the frequency, intensity or duration
of the restraint warrants an aversive treatment procedure; and
(b) isolation time-out which results in the
removal of a student to an isolation room under the following conditions:
(i) the student is alone in the isolation
room during the period of isolation;
(ii) the student is prevented from exiting
the isolation room during the period of isolation;
(iii) the door to the isolation room remains
closed during the period of isolation; and
(iv) the student is prohibited from
participating in activities occurring outside the isolation room and from
interacting with other students during the period of isolation.
(3) Any student in
isolation time-out must be under the direct constant visual observation of a
designated staff person throughout the entire period of isolation.
(4) The following procedures are prohibited:
(a) any procedure solely intended to cause
physical pain;
(b) isolation in a
locked room or mechanical restraint, except in residential treatment facilities
and psychiatric hospitals as defined in
20-7-436,
MCA, when prescribed by a physician as part of a treatment plan and when
implemented in compliance with relevant federal and state law;
(c) the withholding of a meal for a period of
greater than one hour from its scheduled starting time;
(d) aversive mists, noxious odors, and
unpleasant tastes applied by spray or other means to cause an aversive physical
sensation; and
(e) mechanical
restraint that physically restricts a student's movement through the use upon
the student of any mechanical or restrictive device which is not intended for
medical reasons.
(5)
Exclusion time-out is not considered an aversive treatment procedure. Exclusion
time-out is defined as any removal of a student from a regularly scheduled
activity for disciplinary purposes that does not result in placing the student
in an isolation room under all of the conditions described in (2)(b).
(6) IEPs may include the use of aversive
treatment procedures only when:
(a)
subsequent to a functional behavioral assessment, a series of no less than two
written positive behavioral intervention strategies, which were designed to
target the behavior to be changed, were previously implemented;
(b) the IEP team includes a person trained
and knowledgeable about best practices in the application of positive
behavioral interventions, aversive treatment procedures and nonaversive
alternatives for de-escalation of behaviors; and
(c) a written behavioral intervention plan
using aversive treatment procedures is developed and incorporated as a part of
the IEP.
(7) A
behavioral intervention plan using aversive treatment procedures must be in
writing and shall:
(a) include a statement
describing no less than two positive behavioral intervention strategies
previously attempted and the results of these interventions, as described in
(6)(a);
(b) describe the target
behavior(s) that will be consequented with the use of the aversive treatment
procedure(s);
(c) include
short-term objective(s) with measurable criteria stating the expected change in
the target behavior(s);
(d) provide
a written description of the aversive treatment procedure(s);
(e) specify a time limit for the use of the
aversive treatment procedure for any one instance;
(f) include data collection procedures for
recording each application of the aversive treatment(s);
(g) state when the IEP team will meet to
review the ongoing use, modification or termination of the aversive
procedure;
(h) designate an
individual responsible for ongoing review and analysis of the data on the
target behavior;
(i) state how the
student's parents will be regularly informed of the progress toward the
short-term objectives in the IEP at a frequency no less than is required in
34 CFR 300.347;
and
(j) state whether any standard
school disciplinary measures are waived.
(8) When an aversive treatment plan is
incorporated in the IEP, the parents must be informed that their consent to the
IEP includes consent for the aversive treatment plan. Failure to obtain consent
is subject to due process proceedings under ARM
10.16.3507 through
10.16.3523.
(9) Parents must be informed as soon as
possible, but no more than 24 hours after the procedure is used, in writing, or
orally if in writing is not possible, in their native language each time an
aversive procedure is implemented on their child.
AUTH:
20-7-402,
MCA; IMP:
20-7-403,
20-7-414,
MCA
