Current through Reg. 49, No. 52; December 27, 2024
(a) Requirement to implement. In addition to
the requirements of 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
§300.324(a)(2)(i), school districts and charter schools must implement the
provisions of this section regarding the use of restraint and time-out. In
accordance with the provisions of Texas Education Code (TEC), §37.0021
(Use of Confinement, Restraint, Seclusion, and Time-Out), it is the policy of
the state to treat with dignity and respect all students, including students
with disabilities who receive special education services under TEC, Chapter 29,
Subchapter A.
(b) Definitions.
(1) Emergency means a situation in which a
student's behavior poses a threat of:
(A)
imminent, serious physical harm to the student or others; or
(B) imminent, serious property
destruction.
(2)
Restraint means the use of physical force or a mechanical device to
significantly restrict the free movement of all or a portion of the student's
body.
(3) Time-out means a behavior
management technique in which, to provide a student with an opportunity to
regain self-control, the student is separated from other students for a limited
period in a setting:
(A) that is not locked;
and
(B) from which the exit is not
physically blocked by furniture, a closed door held shut from the outside, or
another inanimate object.
(c) Use of restraint. A school employee,
volunteer, or independent contractor may use restraint only in an emergency as
defined in subsection (b) of this section and with the following limitations.
(1) Restraint must be limited to the use of
such reasonable force as is necessary to address the emergency.
(2) Restraint must be discontinued at the
point at which the emergency no longer exists.
(3) Restraint must be implemented in such a
way as to protect the health and safety of the student and others.
(4) Restraint must not deprive the student of
basic human necessities.
(d) Training on use of restraint. Training
for school employees, volunteers, or independent contractors must be provided
according to the following requirements.
(1) A
core team of personnel on each campus must be trained in the use of restraint,
and the team must include a campus administrator or designee and any general or
special education personnel likely to use restraint.
(2) Personnel called upon to use restraint in
an emergency and who have not received prior training must receive training
within 30 school days following the use of restraint.
(3) Training on use of restraint must include
prevention and de-escalation techniques and provide alternatives to the use of
restraint.
(4) All trained
personnel must receive instruction in current professionally accepted practices
and standards regarding behavior management and the use of restraint.
(e) Documentation and notification
on use of restraint. In a case in which restraint is used, school employees,
volunteers, or independent contractors must implement the following
documentation requirements.
(1) On the day
restraint is utilized, the campus administrator or designee must be notified
verbally or in writing regarding the use of restraint.
(2) On the day restraint is utilized, a good
faith effort must be made to verbally notify the parent(s) regarding the use of
restraint.
(3) Written notification
of the use of restraint must be placed in the mail or otherwise provided to the
parent within one school day of the use of restraint.
(4) Written documentation regarding the use
of restraint must be placed in the student's special education eligibility
folder in a timely manner so the information is available to the admission,
review, and dismissal (ARD) committee when it considers the impact of the
student's behavior on the student's learning and/or the creation or revision of
a behavior improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan.
(5) Written notification must be provided to
the student's parent(s) or person standing in parental relation to the student
for each use of restraint, and documentation of each restraint must be placed
in the student's special education eligibility folder. The written notification
of each restraint must include the following:
(A) name of the student;
(B) name of the individual administering the
restraint;
(C) date of the
restraint and the time the restraint began and ended;
(D) location of the restraint;
(E) nature of the restraint;
(F) a description of the activity in which
the student was engaged immediately preceding the use of restraint;
(G) the behavior of the student that prompted
the restraint;
(H) the efforts made
to de-escalate the situation and any alternatives to restraint that were
attempted;
(I) observation of the
student at the end of the restraint;
(J) information documenting parent contact
and notification; and
(K) one of
the following:
(i) if the student has a
behavior improvement plan or behavioral intervention plan, whether the behavior
improvement plan or behavioral intervention plan may need to be revised as a
result of the behavior that led to the restraint and, if so, identification of
the staff member responsible for scheduling an ARD committee meeting to discuss
any potential revisions; or
(ii) if
the student does not have a behavior improvement plan or a behavioral
intervention plan, information on the procedure for the student's parent or
person standing in parental relation to the student to request an ARD committee
meeting to discuss the possibility of conducting a functional behavioral
assessment of the student and developing a plan for the student.
(f)
Clarification regarding restraint. The provisions adopted under this section do
not apply to the use of physical force or a mechanical device that does not
significantly restrict the free movement of all or a portion of the student's
body. Restraint that involves significant restriction as referenced in
subsection (b)(2) of this section does not include:
(1) physical contact or appropriately
prescribed adaptive equipment to promote normative body positioning and/or
physical functioning;
(2) limited
physical contact with a student to promote safety (e.g., holding a student's
hand), prevent a potentially harmful action (e.g., running into the street),
teach a skill, redirect attention, provide guidance to a location, or provide
comfort;
(3) limited physical
contact or appropriately prescribed adaptive equipment to prevent a student
from engaging in ongoing, repetitive self-injurious behaviors, with the
expectation that instruction will be reflected in the individualized education
program (IEP) as required by 34 CFR, §
300.324(a)(2)(i), to promote
student learning and reduce and/or prevent the need for ongoing intervention;
or
(4) seat belts and other safety
equipment used to secure students during transportation.
(g) Use of time-out. A school employee,
volunteer, or independent contractor may use time-out in accordance with
subsection (b)(3) of this section with the following limitations.
(1) Physical force or threat of physical
force must not be used to place a student in time-out.
(2) Time-out may only be used in conjunction
with an array of positive behavior intervention strategies and techniques and
must be included in the student's IEP and/or behavior improvement plan or
behavioral intervention plan if it is utilized on a recurrent basis to increase
or decrease a targeted behavior.
(3) Use of time-out must not be implemented
in a fashion that precludes the ability of the student to be involved in and
progress in the general curriculum and advance appropriately toward attaining
the annual goals specified in the student's IEP.
(h) Training on use of time-out. Training for
school employees, volunteers, or independent contractors must be provided
according to the following requirements.
(1)
General or special education personnel who implement time-out based on
requirements established in a student's IEP and/or behavior improvement plan or
behavioral intervention plan must be trained in the use of time-out.
(2) Newly-identified personnel called upon to
implement time-out based on requirements established in a student's IEP and/or
behavior improvement plan or behavioral intervention plan must receive training
in the use of time-out within 30 school days of being assigned the
responsibility for implementing time-out.
(3) Training on the use of time-out must be
provided as part of a program which addresses a full continuum of positive
behavioral intervention strategies and must address the impact of time-out on
the ability of the student to be involved in and progress in the general
curriculum and advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals
specified in the student's IEP.
(4)
All trained personnel must receive instruction in current professionally
accepted practices and standards regarding behavior management and the use of
time-out.
(i)
Documentation on use of time-out. Necessary documentation or data collection
regarding the use of time-out, if any, must be addressed in the IEP and/or
behavior improvement plan or behavioral intervention plan. If a student has a
behavior improvement plan or behavioral intervention plan, the school district
must document each use of time-out prompted by a behavior of the student
specified in the student's behavior improvement plan or behavioral intervention
plan, including a description of the behavior that prompted the time-out. The
ARD committee must use any collected data to judge the effectiveness of the
intervention and provide a basis for making determinations regarding its
continued use.
(j) Student safety.
Any behavior management technique and/or discipline management practice must be
implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of the student
and others. No discipline management practice may be calculated to inflict
injury, cause harm, demean, or deprive the student of basic human
necessities.
(k) Data reporting.
With the exception of actions covered by subsection (f) of this section, data
regarding the use of restraint must be electronically reported to the Texas
Education Agency (TEA) in accordance with reporting standards specified by
TEA.
(l) Restrictions on peace
officers and security personnel. In accordance with TEC, §37.0021(j), a
peace officer performing law enforcement duties or school security personnel
performing security-related duties on school property or at a school-sponsored
or school-related activity must not restrain or use a chemical irritant spray
or Taser on a student enrolled in Grade 5 or below, unless the student poses a
serious risk of harm to the student or another person.
(m) Provisions applicable to peace officers.
The provisions adopted under this section apply to a peace officer only if the
peace officer is employed or commissioned by the school district or provides,
as a school resource officer, a regular police presence on a school district
campus under a memorandum of understanding between the school district and a
local law enforcement agency, except that the data reporting requirements in
subsection (k) of this section apply to the use of restraint by any peace
officer performing law enforcement duties on school property or during a
school-sponsored or school-related activity.
(n) The provisions adopted under this section
do not apply to:
(1) juvenile probation,
detention, or corrections personnel; or
(2) an educational services provider with
whom a student is placed by a judicial authority, unless the services are
provided in an educational program of a school district.
