Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 170 - Boards of Education
Section 10-236b. - Physical restraint and seclusion of students by school employees.

(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Life-threatening physical restraint” means any physical restraint or hold of a person that (A) restricts the flow of air into a person's lungs, whether by chest compression or any other means, or (B) immobilizes or reduces the free movement of a person's arms, legs or head while the person is in the prone position;
(2) “Psychopharmacologic agent” means any medication that affects the central nervous system, influencing thinking, emotion or behavior;
(3) “Physical restraint” means any mechanical or personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the free movement of a person's arms, legs or head, including, but not limited to, carrying or forcibly moving a person from one location to another. The term does not include: (A) Briefly holding a person in order to calm or comfort the person; (B) restraint involving the minimum contact necessary to safely escort a person from one area to another; (C) medical devices, including, but not limited to, supports prescribed by a health care provider to achieve proper body position or balance; (D) helmets or other protective gear used to protect a person from injuries due to a fall; (E) helmets, mitts and similar devices used to prevent self-injury when the device is (i) part of a documented treatment plan or individualized education program pursuant to section 10-76d, or (ii) prescribed or recommended by a medical professional, as defined in section 38a-976, and is the least restrictive means available to prevent such self-injury; or (F) an exclusionary time out;
(4) “School employee” has the same meaning as provided in subsection (b) of section 10-221o;
(5) “Seclusion” means the involuntary confinement of a student in a room from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. “Seclusion” does not include an exclusionary time out;
(6) “Student” means a child (A) enrolled in grades kindergarten to twelve, inclusive, in a public school under the jurisdiction of a local or regional board of education, (B) receiving special education and related services in an institution or facility operating under contract with a local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d, (C) enrolled in a program or school administered by a regional education service center established pursuant to section 10-66a, or (D) receiving special education and related services from an approved private special education program, but shall not include any child receiving educational services from (i) Unified School District #2, established pursuant to section 17a-37, or (ii) the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; and
(7) “Exclusionary time out” means a temporary, continuously monitored separation of a student from an ongoing activity in a non-locked setting, for the purpose of calming such student or deescalating such student's behavior.
(b) No school employee shall use a physical restraint on a student except as an emergency intervention to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others, provided the restraint is not used for discipline or convenience and is not used as a substitute for a less restrictive alternative.
(c) No school employee shall use a life-threatening physical restraint on a student. This section shall not be construed as limiting any defense to criminal prosecution for the use of deadly physical force that may be available under sections 53a-18 to 53a-22, inclusive.
(d) (1) No school employee shall place a student in seclusion except as an emergency intervention to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others, provided the seclusion is not used for discipline or convenience and is not used as a substitute for a less restrictive alternative. (2) No student shall be placed in seclusion unless (A) such student is monitored by a school employee during the period of such student's seclusion pursuant to subsection (m) of this section, and (B) the area in which such student is secluded is equipped with a window or other fixture allowing such student a clear line of sight beyond the area of seclusion. (3) Seclusion shall not be utilized as a planned intervention in a student's behavioral intervention plan, individualized education program or plan pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time to time.
(e) No school employee may use a psychopharmacologic agent on a student without that student's consent except (1) as an emergency intervention to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others, or (2) as an integral part of the student's established medical or behavioral support or educational plan, as developed consistent with section 17a-543 or, if no such plan has been developed, as part of a licensed practitioner's initial orders. The use of psychopharmacologic agents, alone or in combination, may be used only in doses that are therapeutically appropriate and not as a substitute for other appropriate treatment.
(f) If any instance of physical restraint or seclusion of a student otherwise permissible under subsection (b) or (d) of this section exceeds fifteen minutes, (1) an administrator, as defined in section 10-144e, or such administrator's designee, (2) a school health or mental health personnel, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-212b, or (3) a board certified behavioral analyst, who has received training in the use of physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to subsection (o) of this section, shall determine whether continued physical restraint or seclusion is necessary to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others. Upon a determination that such continued physical restraint or seclusion is necessary, such individual shall make a new determination every thirty minutes thereafter regarding whether such physical restraint or seclusion is necessary to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others.
(g) In the event that physical restraint or seclusion is used on a student four or more times within twenty school days:
(1) An administrator, one or more of such student's teachers, a parent or guardian of such student and, if any, a mental health professional, as defined in section 10-76t, shall convene for the purpose of (A) conducting or revising a behavioral assessment of the student, (B) creating or revising any applicable behavioral intervention plan, and (C) determining whether such student may require special education pursuant to section 10-76ff; or
(2) If such student is a child requiring special education, as described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a, or a child being evaluated for eligibility for special education pursuant to section 10-76d and awaiting a determination, such student's planning and placement team shall convene for the purpose of (A) conducting or revising a behavioral assessment of the student, and (B) creating or revising any applicable behavioral intervention plan, including, but not limited to, such student's individualized education plan.
(h) Each local or regional board of education shall notify a parent or guardian of a student who is placed in physical restraint or seclusion not later than twenty-four hours after the student was placed in physical restraint or seclusion and shall make a reasonable effort to provide such notification immediately after such physical restraint or seclusion is initiated.
(i) No school employee shall use a physical restraint on a student or place a student in seclusion unless such school employee has received training on the proper means for performing such physical restraint or seclusion pursuant to subsection (o) of this section.
(j) (1) On and after July 1, 2016, each local or regional board of education, and each institution or facility operating under contract with a local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d that provides special education for children, including any approved private special education program, shall (A) record each instance of the use of physical restraint or seclusion on a student, (B) specify whether the use of seclusion was in accordance with an individualized education program, (C) specify the nature of the emergency that necessitated the use of such physical restraint or seclusion, and (D) include such information in an annual compilation on its use of such restraint and seclusion on students. Each local or regional board of education and such institutions or facilities operating under contract with a local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d that provides special education for children, including any approved private special education program shall provide such annual compilation to the Department of Education for the purposes of the pilot program established pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection to examine incidents of physical restraint and seclusion in schools and to the State Board of Education for the purposes of subsection (k) of this section. Local or regional boards of education and such institutions and facilities that provide special education for children shall not be required to report instances of in-school suspensions, as defined in subsection (c) of section 10-233a.
(2) The Department of Education shall establish a pilot program for the school year commencing July 1, 2015. Such pilot program shall be implemented in various districts, including, but not limited to, an alliance district, a regional school district and a regional education service center. Under the pilot program, the Department of Education shall examine incidents of physical restraint and seclusion in schools and shall compile and analyze data regarding such incidents to enable the department to better understand and respond to incidents of physical restraint and seclusion on students in the state.
(k) The State Board of Education shall review the annual compilation of each local or regional board of education, and each institution or facility operating under contract with a local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d that provides special education for children, including any approved private special education program, and shall produce an annual summary report specifying (1) the frequency of use of physical restraint or seclusion on students, (2) whether any student subjected to such restraint or seclusion was a special education student, and (3) if any such student was a special education student, whether the use of such seclusion was in accordance with an individualized education program or whether the use of such seclusion was an emergency intervention to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or to others. Such report shall be submitted not later than January 15, 2017, and annually thereafter, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children and education for inclusion in the annual report card prepared pursuant to section 2-53m.
(l) Any use of physical restraint or seclusion on a student shall be documented in the student's educational record. The documentation shall include (1) the nature of the emergency and what other steps, including attempts at verbal deescalation, were taken to prevent the emergency from arising if there were indications that such an emergency was likely to arise, and (2) a detailed description of the nature of the restraint or seclusion, the duration of such restraint or seclusion and the effect of such restraint or seclusion on the student's established educational plan.
(m) Any student who is physically restrained shall be continually monitored by a school employee. Any student who is involuntarily placed in seclusion shall be frequently monitored by a school employee. Each student so restrained or in seclusion shall be regularly evaluated by a school employee for indications of physical distress. The school employee conducting the evaluation shall enter each evaluation in the student's educational record. For purposes of this subsection, “monitor” means (1) direct observation, or (2) observation by way of video monitoring within physical proximity sufficient to provide aid as may be needed.
(n) If the use of such restraint or seclusion results in physical injury to the student, the local or regional board of education, and each institution or facility operating under contract with a local or regional board of education pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d that provides special education for children, including any approved private special education program, shall report the incident to the State Board of Education, which shall include such incident in the report required pursuant to subsection (k) of this section. The State Board of Education shall report any incidence of serious injury or death to the nonprofit entity designated by the Governor in accordance with section 46a-10b to serve as the Connecticut protection and advocacy system, as required by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, 42 USC 15041, et seq., as amended from time to time, and any regulations promulgated thereunder, and as required by the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act, 42 USC 10801 et seq., as amended from time to time, and any regulations promulgated thereunder, and, if appropriate, to the Child Advocate of the Office of the Child Advocate.
(o) (1) Each local or regional board of education shall provide training regarding the physical restraint and seclusion of students to the members of the crisis intervention team for each school in the district, identified pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection. A local or regional board of education may provide such training to any teacher, as defined in section 10-144d, administrator, as defined in section 10-144e, school paraprofessional or other school employee, as defined in section 10-222d, designated by the school principal and who has direct contact with students. Such training shall be provided during the school year commencing July 1, 2017, and each school year thereafter, and shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) An overview of the relevant laws and regulations regarding the use of physical restraint and seclusion on students and the proper uses of physical restraint and seclusion. For the school year commencing July 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, such overview shall be provided by the Department of Education, in a manner and form as prescribed by the Commissioner of Education;
(B) The creation of a plan by which each local and regional board of education shall provide training regarding the prevention of incidents requiring physical restraint or seclusion of students. Such plan shall be implemented not later than July 1, 2018. The Department of Education may, within available appropriations, provide ongoing monitoring and support to local or regional boards of education regarding the formulation and implementation of the plan; and
(C) The creation of a plan by which each local or regional board of education shall provide training regarding the proper means of physical restraint or seclusion of a student, including, but not limited to, (i) various types of physical restraint and seclusion; (ii) the differences between life-threatening physical restraint and other varying levels of physical restraint; (iii) the differences between permissible physical restraint and pain compliance techniques; and (iv) monitoring methods to prevent harm to a student who is physically restrained or in seclusion. Such plan shall be implemented not later than July 1, 2018;
(2) For the school year commencing July 1, 2017, and each school year thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall require each school in the district to identify a crisis intervention team consisting of any teacher, as defined in section 10-144d, administrator, as defined in section 10-144e, school paraprofessional or other school employee, as defined in section 10-222d, designated by the school principal and who has direct contact with students. Such teams shall respond to any incident in which the use of physical restraint or seclusion may be necessary as an emergency intervention to prevent immediate or imminent injury to a student or to others. Each member of the crisis intervention team shall be recertified in the use of physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of this subsection or chapter 814e on an annual basis. Each local and regional board of education shall maintain a list of the members of the crisis intervention team for each school.
(p) Each local or regional board of education shall develop policies and procedures that establish monitoring and internal reporting of the use of physical restraint and seclusion on students and shall make such policies and procedures available on such local or regional board of education's Internet web site and in such local or regional board of education's procedures manual.
(q) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the justified use of physical force by a local, state or federal law enforcement official while in the performance of such official's duties.
(r) The State Board of Education shall adopt or revise regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, concerning the use of physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to this section. Not later than sixty days after the adoption or revision of such regulations, each local or regional board of education shall update any applicable policies and procedures regarding the physical restraint and seclusion of students and shall make such updated policies and procedures available in a manner consistent with the provisions of subsection (p) of this section.
(s) Not later than January 1, 2019, each local or regional board of education shall establish a policy regarding the use of an exclusionary time out. Such policy shall include, but need not be limited to, a requirement that (1) exclusionary time outs are not to be used as a form of discipline, (2) at least one school employee remain with the student, or be immediately available to the student such that the student and school employee are able to communicate verbally, throughout the exclusionary time out, (3) the space used for an exclusionary time out is clean, safe, sanitary and appropriate for the purpose of calming such student or deescalating such student's behavior, (4) the exclusionary time out period terminate as soon as possible, and (5) if such student is a child requiring special education, as defined in section 10-76a, or a child being evaluated for special education, pursuant to section 10-76d, and awaiting a determination, and the interventions or strategies are unsuccessful in addressing such student's problematic behavior, such student's planning and placement team shall convene as soon as is practicable to determine alternative interventions or strategies.
(P.A. 15-141, S. 1; P.A. 17-96, S. 6; 17-220, S. 5; P.A. 18-51, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 15-141 effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 17-96 amended Subsec. (n) to replace reference to director of Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities with reference to Connecticut protection and advocacy system, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 17-220 amended Subsec. (o) by replacing “school district” with “board of education”, deleting references to school professionals, paraprofessional staff members and administrators, and adding provisions re members of crisis intervention team for each school district and providing training to teacher, administrator, school paraprofessional or other school employee, replacing “phased in over a period of three years beginning with the school year commencing July 1, 2015” with “provided during the school year commencing July 1, 2017, and each school year thereafter” in Subdiv. (1), adding “and the proper uses of physical restraint and seclusion” and adding reference to school year commencing July 1, 2017, and annually thereafter in Subdiv. (1)(A), replacing “or” with “and” re creation of plan to provide training, deleting “and professional development”, and replacing “July 1, 2017” with “July 1, 2018” in Subdiv. (1)(B), deleting “and professional development” and replacing “July 1, 2017” with “July 1, 2018” in Subdiv. (1)(C), replacing “Not later than July 1, 2015” with “For the school year commencing July 1, 2017”, replacing “or” with “and” re requirements to identify crisis intervention team, adding reference to teacher, administrator, school paraprofessional or other school employee re crisis intervention team, and adding provision re list of members of crisis intervention team in Subdiv. (2), and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 18-51 amended Subsec. (a) by redefining “physical restraint” in Subdiv. (3), making a technical change in Subdiv. (4), redefining “seclusion” in Subdiv. (5), and adding Subdiv. (7) re definition of “exclusionary time out”, amended Subsec. (d) by designating existing provisions re placement of student in seclusion as new Subdivs. (1) and (2), amending new Subdiv. (2) by redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) and (2) as Subparas. (A) and (B) and adding Subdiv. (3) re seclusion shall not be utilized as planned intervention, and adding Subsec. (s) re exclusionary time out policies, effective July 1, 2018.

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