(1) When children
with special needs are enrolled in a child care program, all reasonable and
appropriate efforts shall be made to provide those children equal opportunity
to participate in the same program activities as their peers.
(2) Parents or other appropriate individual
identified by the parent shall provide information and, as appropriate,
training to teachers regarding special needs/techniques/emergency measures, as
utilized in the child's home to ensure the child's well-being.
(3) Adaptations to the environment shall be
directed toward normalizing the lifestyle of the child with a disability by
helping him/her become independent and develop self-help skills.
(4) Behavior management techniques or program
activities which would tend to demean or isolate the child are
prohibited.
(5) The program shall
inform parents of any specialized services available from the program, and if
the program is aware of any specialized services available through third
parties, shall additionally inform the parent of such services.
(6) Efforts to provide specialized service
(e.g., speech/hearing therapy, physical therapy, psychological evaluation, or
services for intellectual disability) either directly or by referral, shall be
conducted only with written permission by the parent in accordance with the
Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individual Education Plan (IEP) and
documented in the child's record. Any information exchange regarding these
services that is shared with or received from third parties shall also be
documented.
(7) The program shall
have written individualized emergency plans for each child with a disability
who requires more assistance in emergencies than other children of the same age
or in the same group. The program shall maintain documentation that the
Emergency Plan is practiced monthly.
(8) Each non-verbal child's daily activities,
including, as applicable to the individual child, the time and amount of
feeding, elimination, times of diaper changes, sleep patterns, and
developmental progress, shall be recorded and shared with the parent(s)
daily.
(9) Diapering of school-age
children with special needs shall be completed as follows:
(a) Children shall be changed in a location
designated for that purpose and which provides privacy from other children and
adults.
(b) School-age children may
be diapered on the floor on a nonporous washable, surface that adequately
protects the floor from contamination.
(c) The floor beneath the diapering surface
shall be immediately cleaned after each diapering.
(d) The diapering area shall be located near
a hand washing lavatory. This area shall be in a separate location from food
preparation/service area.
(10) Isolation and physical restraint shall
be in accordance with T.C.A. §§ 49-10-1301-1305:
(a) A student receiving special education
services, as defined by T.C.A. §
49-10-102(4),
may be isolated or restrained only in emergency situations and only if such
isolation or restraint is provided in the student's IEP in emergency
situations.
(b) If school personnel
impose restraints or isolation in an emergency situation, the school shall
immediately contact the appropriate school personnel designated to authorize
isolation or restraint. The student's parent or guardian shall be notified,
orally or by written communication, the same day the isolation or restraint was
used.
(c) If the student's
individualized education program does not provide for the use of isolation or
restraint for the behavior precipitating such action or if school personnel are
required to use isolation or restraint longer than five (5) minutes, then an
individual education program meeting shall be convened within ten (10) days
following the use of such isolation or restraint. If the behavior precipitating
such action also warrants a change of placement, the child will have all rights
provided under applicable state and federal law.
(d) School personnel who must isolate or
restrain a student receiving special education services, as defined by T.C.A.
§
49-10-102(4),
whether or not such isolation or restraint was in an emergency situation or
provided for in the student's individual education program, shall report the
incident to the appropriate school personnel designated to authorize isolation
or restraint who shall record the use of such isolation or restraint and the
facts surrounding such use. A copy of such record shall be made available at
individual education program meetings and upon the request of the student's
parent or legal guardian.
(e) If
the appropriate school personnel designated to authorize isolation or any
person having knowledge of the isolation or restraint, have reason to believe
that such isolation or restraint was unreasonable, unsafe, or unwarranted, and
such isolation or restraint caused injury to the student, the incident shall be
reported pursuant to T.C.A. §
37-1-403.
(f) School personnel shall remain in the
physical presence of any restrained student and shall continuously observe a
student who is in isolation or being restrained to monitor the health and
well-being of such student.
(g)
Administering a chemical restraint to a student receiving special education
services, as defined by T.C.A. §
49-10-102(4),
is prohibited, provided that nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the
administration of a chemical restraint when administered for therapeutic
purposes under the direction of a physician and with the child's parent or
guardian's consent to administer such chemical restraint.
(h) Administering a noxious substance to a
student receiving special education services, as defined by T.C.A. §
49-10-102(4),
is prohibited.
(i) Use of any
mechanical restraint on any student receiving special education services, as
defined by T.C.A. §
49-10-102(4),
is prohibited.
(j) Any form of life
threatening restraint, including restraint that restricts the flow of air into
a person's lungs, whether by chest compression or any other means, to a student
receiving special education services, as defined by §
49-10-102(4),
is prohibited.
(k) The use of
isolation or physical holding restraint as a means of coercion, punishment,
convenience or retaliation on any student receiving special education services,
as defined by T.C.A. §
49-10-102(4),
is prohibited.
(l) The use of
physical holding restraint in the following circumstances is not prohibited:
1. The brief holding by an adult in order to
calm or comfort;
2. The minimum
contact necessary to physically escort a student from one area to
another;
3. Assisting a student in
completing a task or response if the student does not resist, or resistance is
minimal in intensity or duration; or
4. Holding a student for a brief time in
order to prevent any impulsive behavior that threatens the student's immediate
safety.
5. The program is not
required to notify the student's parent or guardian pursuant to this Chapter in
any of the circumstances listed in this subdivision (l).
(m) The use of a locked door, or use of any
physical structure that substantially accomplishes the intent of locking a
student in a room or structure, to isolate or seclude a student, is
prohibited.
