Yes. Under state law, “emergency interventions” such as restraint and seclusion may only be used when:
- Your child engages in unpredictable, spontaneous behavior, and
- The behavior presents a danger of serious physical harm to the student or others, and
- The dangerous behavior cannot be immediately prevented by a less restrictive response than the emergency intervention.
Emergency interventions cannot be used as a substitute for a positive behavioral intervention plan, last longer than is needed to contain the behavior, or involve an amount of force that exceeds that which is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56521.1.]
State law contains very specific guidelines on the handling and documentation of behavioral emergencies. After the emergency intervention, the school must contact the parent/guardian within one schoolday. Further, the school must “immediately” complete a Behavioral Emergency Report (BER) that will be kept in the student’s file. The BER must contain:
- The name and age of the individual with exceptional needs;
- 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 the student currently has a BIP; and
- Details of any injuries sustained by the student, or others, including staff.[Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56521.1(e).]
All BERs must be immediately forwarded to, and reviewed by, a designated administrator. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56521.1(f).] If the BER is written about a student who does not have a BIP, the school must schedule an IEP meeting within two days to discuss whether one is needed. If the student has a BIP and the incident involved a previously unseen serious behavior problem, or a previously designed intervention is ineffective, the IEP should meet to determine whether to modify the BIP. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56521.1(g)-(h).]
Even in emergencies (and in all other behavior services), emergency interventions used by the school district cannot involve the infliction of pain or trauma. [Cal. Ed. Code Secs. 56520(a)(4), 56521.2(a).] Specific prohibited emergency interventions include:
- Causing physical pain, including, but not limited to, electric shock;
- Releasing noxious, toxic, or otherwise unpleasant sprays, mists, or substances near a student’s face;
- Denying adequate sleep, food, water, shelter, bedding, physical comfort, or access to bathroom facilities;
- Subjecting the student to verbal abuse, ridicule, or humiliation;
- Using an object that simultaneously immobilizes all four extremities;
- Locked seclusion;
- Precluding adequate supervision of the individual; and
- Depriving the individual of one or more of his or her senses.
[Cal. Educ. Code Sec. 56521.2(a).]
However, in a behavioral emergency, properly trained school personnel may use prone containment. [Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56521.1(d)(2).]