SB 204: "An Act relating to crisis intervention training for school personnel; and relating to restraint, escort, and seclusion of students in public schools."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 204 01 "An Act relating to crisis intervention training for school personnel; and relating to 02 restraint, escort, and seclusion of students in public schools." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.33.120(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) Each governing body shall adopt a written school disciplinary and safety 06 program. The program required under this subsection must be made available to 07 students, parents, and the public and include written 08 (1) standards for student behavior and safety that reflect community 09 standards and that include, at a minimum, basic requirements for respect and honesty; 10 standards required under this paragraph must be developed and periodically reviewed 11 with the collaboration of members of each school, parents, teachers, and other persons 12 responsible for the students at a school; a governing body may require that standards 13 developed under this paragraph be consistent for all schools in an attendance area or 14 the district;
01 (2) standards relating to when a teacher is authorized to remove a 02 student from the classroom for 03 (A) failure to follow student behavior and safety standards; or 04 (B) behavior described under AS 14.30.045(1) or (2); 05 (3) procedures for notifying teachers of dangerous students consistent 06 with AS 47.12.310(b); 07 (4) standards relating to when a teacher, teacher's assistant, or other 08 person responsible for students is authorized to use reasonable and appropriate force to 09 maintain classroom safety and discipline as described under AS 11.81.430(a)(2); 10 (5) policies necessary to comply with provisions of state and federal 11 law, including 20 U.S.C. 1400 - 1482 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act); 12 (6) standards to address needs of students for whom mental health or 13 substance abuse may be a contributing factor to noncompliance with the school 14 disciplinary and safety program; 15 (7) policies for implementing a student conflict resolution strategy, 16 including the nonviolent resolution or mediation of conflicts and procedures for 17 reporting and resolving conflicts; 18 (8) procedures for periodic review and revision of the school 19 disciplinary and safety program; 20 (9) policies and procedures consistent with standards for use of 21 restraint and seclusion of students as described in AS 14.33.125. 22 * Sec. 2. AS 14.33.120(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 23 (b) A school shall, not later than 24 hours after the incident, provide to the 24 parent or legal guardian of an affected student information relating to an incident 25 involving disruptive or violent behavior by the student that resulted in restraint or 26 seclusion of the student by school personnel. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 14.33 is amended by adding new sections to read: 28 Sec. 14.33.125. Student restraint, escort, or seclusion; limitations. (a) A 29 public school disciplinary and safety program must 30 (1) prohibit restraint or seclusion of a student except as provided in (b) 31 of this section;
01 (2) be annually reviewed with school personnel; 02 (3) include a written report of each incident that is maintained in the 03 student's record as described in (d) of this section; and 04 (4) include a review of each incident in which restraint or seclusion is 05 used as provided in (e) of this section. 06 (b) A teacher, teacher's assistant, or other person responsible for students may 07 physically restrain, physically escort, or seclude a student only if 08 (1) the student's behavior poses an imminent danger of physical injury 09 to the student or another person; 10 (2) less restrictive interventions would be ineffective to stop the 11 imminent danger to the student or another person; 12 (3) the person continuously monitors the student in face-to-face 13 contact or, if face-to-face contact is unsafe, by continuous direct visual contact with 14 the student; 15 (4) the person has received training in crisis intervention and de- 16 escalation and restraint techniques that has been approved by the department under 17 AS 14.33.127, unless a trained person is not immediately available and the 18 circumstances are rare and present an unavoidable and unforeseen emergency; and 19 (5) the restraint or seclusion is discontinued immediately when the 20 student no longer poses an imminent danger of physical injury to the student or 21 another person or when a less restrictive intervention is effective to stop the danger of 22 physical injury. 23 (c) A teacher, teacher's assistant, or other person responsible for students may 24 not 25 (1) use chemical restraint; 26 (2) use mechanical restraint; 27 (3) physically escort a student in a manner that restricts the student's 28 breathing; or 29 (4) physically restrain a student by placing the student on the student's 30 back or stomach or in a manner that restricts the student's breathing. 31 (d) School personnel who restrain or seclude a student shall provide a written
01 report of the incident to the school administrator. A school shall provide a copy of the 02 report to the student's parents or legal guardians on request. The report must include 03 (1) the date and time of the incident; 04 (2) the names and job titles of school personnel who participated in or 05 supervised the incident; 06 (3) a description of the activity that preceded the incident, including 07 efforts and strategies used with the student before the incident; 08 (4) a description of the incident, including the type and duration of the 09 intervention used; 10 (5) a description of how the incident ended, including any further 11 action taken. 12 (e) A school district shall ensure that a review process is established and 13 conducted for each incident that involves restraint or seclusion of a student. The 14 review must include 15 (1) staff review of the incident; 16 (2) follow-up communication with the student and the student's parent 17 or legal guardian; 18 (3) review of and recommendations for adjusting or amending 19 procedures, strategies, accommodations, individualized education plans, or other 20 student behavior plans, or for additional staff training. 21 (f) Each school district shall annually report to the department the total 22 number of incidents involving the restraint or seclusion of a student. The report must 23 specify 24 (1) the number of incidents that resulted in injury or death of students 25 or personnel; 26 (2) the number of incidents in which school personnel involved in the 27 restraint or seclusion were not trained in an approved crisis intervention training 28 program as described in AS 14.33.127(b); and 29 (3) the number of incidents involving the restraint or seclusion of a 30 child with a disability under AS 14.30.350; the report must also include the category 31 of the disability of the child involved in each incident.
01 (g) In this section, 02 (1) "chemical restraint" means a drug or medication that is used on a 03 student to control the student's behavior or restrict the student's movement; "chemical 04 restraint" does not include a drug or medication that has been 05 (A) prescribed for the student by a licensed physician, nurse 06 practitioner, or physician assistant within 07 (i) the scope of practice of the physician, nurse 08 practitioner, or physician assistant; 09 (ii) the standard of care required for the student's 10 condition; and 11 (B) administered as prescribed by a person who is authorized 12 by law to administer the drug or medication; 13 (2) "mechanical restraint" means the use of a device that is not a 14 medical device or protective equipment prescribed by a qualified health care 15 professional to restrict a student's freedom of movement; 16 (3) "physically escort" or "physical escort" means temporarily 17 touching or holding the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back for the purpose of guiding 18 the movement of a student from one location to another; 19 (4) "physically restrain" or "physical restraint" means a personal 20 restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move the student's 21 arms, legs, or head freely; 22 (5) "restraint" means physical restraint, chemical restraint, mechanical 23 restraint, or other aversive behavioral interventions that compromise health and safety; 24 (6) "seclusion" means the involuntary confinement of a student in a 25 room or area that the student is prevented from leaving; "seclusion" does not include a 26 classroom timeout, supervised detention, or suspension from school under 27 AS 14.30.045. 28 Sec. 14.33.127. Crisis intervention training. (a) The department shall 29 approve crisis intervention training programs for schools, which shall include training 30 in 31 (1) evidenced-based techniques that have been shown to be effective in
01 the prevention of restraint and seclusion of students; 02 (2) evidence-based techniques shown to be effective in keeping school 03 personnel and students safe when imposing physical restraint or seclusion of students; 04 (3) evidence-based skills related to positive behavior supports, safe 05 physical escort, conflict prevention, understanding antecedents, de-escalation, and 06 conflict management; 07 (4) first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and 08 (5) applicable policies and procedures. 09 (b) The governing body of a school shall ensure that a sufficient number of 10 school employees receives periodic training in an approved crisis intervention 11 program to meet the needs of the school population. 12 (c) In this section, 13 (1) "physical escort" has the meaning given in AS 14.33.125; 14 (2) "restraint" has the meaning given in AS 14.33.125; 15 (3) "seclusion" has the meaning given in AS 14.33.125. 16 * Sec. 4. AS 14.45.100 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 14.45.100. Exemption. Except as provided in (b) of this section, a [A] 18 religious or other private school that complies with AS 14.45.100 - 14.45.130 is 19 exempt from other provisions of law and regulations relating to education except law 20 and regulations relating to physical health, fire safety, sanitation, immunization, and 21 physical examinations. 22 * Sec. 5. AS 14.45.100 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (b) A religious or other private school that is exempt under this section is not 24 required to comply with AS 14.33.120(b), 14.33.125, or 14.33.127.