If the school district uses emergency behavior interventions on your child, the school district must:
- Notify you of this within one school day;
- Immediately complete a “Behavior Emergency Report” (BER) that must include the following:
- The name and age of your child;
- The setting and location of the incident;
- The name of the staff or other persons involved;
- A description of the incident and the emergency intervention used, and whether your child currently has a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP); and
- Details of injuries experienced by the child.[1]
The district must place the BER in your child’s file.[2] The district is not required to give you a copy of this report unless you request it. You should make a written request for this report if you learn that an emergency behavior intervention was used on your child.
If the school district used an emergency intervention on your child and your child does not have a BIP, then the school district must schedule an IEP meeting within two days of the emergency intervention to determine whether a Functional Behavioral Assessment is needed and to determine whether your child needs an emergency behavior plan while the assessment is being done.[3] If your child already has a positive behavior intervention plan, the district must schedule an IEP meeting to review and possibly change this plan if the school has used an emergency behavior intervention on your child because your child has engaged in behavior not covered in the plan or your child’s plan has not been effective in addressing the behavior.[4] If you are informed that your child’s school used a behavioral emergency intervention on your child such as restraint or seclusion, you should remind the school district of their obligation to schedule an IEP meeting to develop a new or modified behavior support plan for your child. If the school district does not do this, we recommend that you file a compliance complaint.[5]