HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1796
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint and seclusion in schools;

     (2)  Ensure the safety of all students and personnel in schools and promote a positive school culture and climate;

     (3)  Protect students from:

         (A)  Physical or mental abuse;

         (B)  Aversive behavioral interventions that compromise health and safety; and

         (C)  Any physical restraint or seclusion imposed solely for purposes of discipline or convenience;

     (4)  Ensure that physical restraint and seclusion are imposed in school only when a student's behavior poses an imminent danger of physical injury to the student, school personnel, or others; and

     (5)  Assist schools in:

         (A)  Establishing policies and procedures to keep all students and school personnel safe, including students with the most complex and intensive behavioral needs;

         (B)  Providing school personnel with the necessary tools, training, and support to ensure the safety of all students and all school personnel;

         (C)  Collecting and analyzing data on physical restraint and seclusion in schools; and

         (D)  Identifying and implementing effective evidence-based models to prevent and reduce physical restraint and seclusion in schools.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A-   Use of restraint or seclusion limited; parent notification; procedures; training; policies and procedures review. (a)  The use of restraint or seclusion is prohibited in schools unless:

(1) There is an emergency situation and restraint or seclusion is necessary to protect a student or another person after other less intrusive interventions have failed or been determined to be inappropriate; or

(2) The parents of a student have otherwise provided written consent for the use of restraint or seclusion while a behavioral intervention plan is being developed.

(b)  At a minimum, any room or structure used for seclusion shall:

(1) Be free of objects and fixtures with which a student could self-inflict bodily harm;

(2) Provide a teacher an unobstructed view of the student from an adjacent area; and

(3) Provide adequate lighting and ventilation.

(c)  All parents of students shall receive, at least annually, written information about the policies and procedures for restraint or seclusion issued by the department.  This written information shall include:

(1) Evidence-based techniques shown to be effective in keeping school personnel and students safe when imposing restraint or seclusion;

(2) Evidence-based skills related to positive behavior supports, safe physical escort, conflict prevention, understanding antecedents, de-escalation, and conflict management;

(3) First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation;

(4) Information describing state policies and procedures that meet the minimum standards established by regulations;

(5) Communication skills, whether verbal or written, to be able to explain the use of restraint or seclusion to a student who is subject to restraint or seclusion and to the student's family;

(6) Information on the procedures for determining when restraint or seclusion can and cannot be properly used in school settings;

(7) Definitions of restraint and seclusion;

(8) Information on the procedural safeguards that are in place to protect the rights of children and their parents;

(9) A description of the alignment of the department's and school's policies and procedures with applicable state laws or department rules;

(10) Information on the procedures for notifying parents when restraint or seclusion has been used with their child; and

(11) Information on the procedures for notifying parents about any changes to policies and procedures on restraint or seclusion.

(d)  If policy or procedural changes related to restraint or seclusion are made during the school year, staff and family members shall be notified immediately.

(e)  Schools shall establish procedures to be followed after each incident involving the imposition of physical restraint or seclusion upon a student, including:

(1) Procedures to provide to the parent of the student with respect to each such incident the following:

(A) An immediate verbal or electronic communication on the same day as each such incident; and

(B) Within twenty-four hours of each such incident, written notification; and

(2) Any other procedures the State determines appropriate.

(f)  All schools shall ensure that staff utilizing restraint or seclusion in facilities or programs are trained and certified on a periodic basis.  Training shall include:

(1) Evidence-based techniques shown to be effective in the prevention of restraint and seclusion;

(2) Evidence-based techniques shown to be effective in keeping school personnel and students safe when imposing restraint or seclusion;

(3) Evidence-based skills related to positive behavior supports, safe physical escort, conflict prevention, understanding antecedents, de-escalation, and conflict management;

(4) First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and

(5) Information describing state policies and procedures that meet the minimum standards established by regulations.

(g)  The state quality assurance team shall review policies and procedures on the use of restraint and seclusion and update them annually as appropriate.  The state quality assurance team shall comprise members, including parents, with expertise related to positive behavioral interventions and supports and educating and supporting students with dangerous behaviors in schools and community settings.  The state quality assurance team shall consider and examine:

(1) Available data on the use of these practices and their outcomes, settings, individual staff, and programs, including:

(A) The frequency of the use of restraint and seclusion across:

(i) Individual children;

(ii) Groups of children;

(iii) Gender;

(iv) Race;

(v) National origin;

(vi) Disability status and type of disability; and

(vii) Limited English proficiency;

(2) Whether policies for restraint and seclusion are being applied consistently;

(3) The accuracy and consistency that restraint and seclusion data is being collected, as well as the extent to which this data is being used to plan behavioral interventions and staff training;

(4) Whether procedures for using these practices are being implemented with fidelity;

(5) Whether procedures continue to protect children and adults; and

(6) Whether existing policies and procedures for restraint and seclusion remain properly aligned with applicable state law and consistent with privacy laws.

(h)  Each school shall maintain records of its review of restraint and seclusion data and any resulting decisions or actions regarding the use of restraint and seclusion.

(i)  No less than quarterly, the department shall review data on students involved in restraint or seclusion.  The review shall be conducted by a team, including parents, with expertise related to positive behavioral interventions and supports and educating and supporting students with dangerous behaviors in schools and community settings.  The department shall determine whether:

(1) There are strategies in place to address the students with dangerous behaviors at issue;

(2) The strategies in place are effective in increasing appropriate behaviors of students with dangerous behaviors; and

(3) New strategies need to be developed or current strategies need to be revised or changed to prevent reoccurrences of the dangerous behaviors.

Patterns and trends in the data that are identified by the department shall be reported to the state quality assurance team.

(j)  The department shall review policies and procedures on the use of restraint and seclusion, including:

(1) Available data on the use of these practices and their outcomes, settings, individual staff, and programs, including:

(A) The frequency of the use of restraint and seclusion across:

(i) Individual children;

(ii) Groups of children;

(iii) Gender;

(iv) Race;

(v) National origin;

(vi) Disability status and type of disability; and

(vii) Limited English proficiency;

(2) Whether policies for restraint and seclusion are being applied consistently;

(3) The accuracy and consistency with which restraint and seclusion data is being collected, as well as the extent to which this data is being used to plan behavioral interventions and staff training;

(4) Whether procedures for using these practices are being implemented with fidelity;

(5) Whether procedures continue to protect children and adults; and

(6) Whether existing policies and procedures for restraint and seclusion remain properly aligned with applicable state law and consistent with privacy laws.

(k)  For purposes of this section:

"Behavioral intervention plan" means a proactive plan designed to address problem behaviors exhibited by a student in the educational setting through the use of positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports.

"Individualized education program" means a written statement about the educational program for a child with a disability that serves as:

(1) A management tool to ensure that the child receives the needed special education and related services; and

(2) An evaluation device when used to determine the extent of the child's progress toward accomplishing projected goals.

"Positive behavior supports" means a systematic approach to embed evidence-based practices and data-driven decision making to improve school climate and culture, including a range of systemic and individualized strategies to reinforce desired behaviors and diminish reoccurrence of problem behaviors, in order to achieve improved academic and social outcomes and increase learning for all students, including students with the most complex and intensive behavioral needs.

"Restraint" means:

(1) The use of a drug or medication on a student to control behavior or restrict freedom of movement that is not prescribed or administered by a licensed physician, or other qualified health professional acting under the scope of the professional's authority under state law, for the regular or ongoing treatment of a student's medical or psychiatric condition;

(2) The use of devices as a means of restricting a student's freedom of movement; or

(3) The use of personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move the student's arms, legs, or head freely.

"Seclusion" means the confinement of a student alone in a room or structure from which the student is physically prevented from leaving."

     SECTION 3.  Section 302A-1141, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§302A-1141[]]  Punishment of pupils limited.  No physical punishment of any kind may be inflicted upon any pupil, [but reasonable] except that:

(1) Reasonable force may be used by a teacher in order to restrain a pupil in attendance at school from hurting oneself or any other person or property[, and reasonable];

(2) Reasonable force may be used as defined in section 703-309(2) by a principal or the principal's agent only with another teacher present and out of the presence of any other student but only for the purposes outlined in section 703-309(2)(a)[.]; and

(3) Use of restraint or seclusion shall be permitted only in accordance with section 302A-  ."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2014.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Restraint of Children in School; Seclusion

Description:

Establishes conditions and procedures for the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.