Special education restraint?

Question

If a school district restrains your child, does the school have to call you? If restraint is not written in the IEP is it even allowed?

Answer 1

Yes, the district has the right (and responsibility) to restrain those who are a danger to themselves or to others (staff, students, general public).  This should only be done as a last resort and by trained crisis intervention staff.  As for the IEP part, unless your state specifically forbids the use of restraint (not aware of any), not having it written as a part of a behavior management plan doesn't matter.  (Consider:  if your child was in danger from the behavior of another, wouldn't you want that child restrained if necessary to prevent injury?)  The parent/guardian should be notified, however!  Additionally, the staff is supposed to document the entire process, noting time, events, behaviors, etc.

Answer 2

This is a question I would ask someone who really knows.  IF your child was being disruptive or was a danger and had to be restrained, I would tend to believe that the school would have contacted you to pick the child up.  If there is a chance that this could happen again, I would advise you to have a plan of action in place with the school that is going to be followed.  The only way to almost insure compliance is to have it placed in the child's IEP.

Answer 3

Restraint can be used on anyone IEP or not... Restraint is only allowed to be used for the person's protection (self-injurious behaviors or running away are two common examples) or for another person's protection.  The school is not required to call under federal guidelines.  However, if you ask, the principal may agree to it.  

If you have problems/questions about policy, contact  the principal and the special education director for your school district.

Answer 4

I think it depends what state you are in.

Anyone can be restrained whether or not it is in the IEP, but it is only to be used as a last resort when the person is a serious danger to themselves or others. And only a person who is certified in using appropriate restraints can use the restraint.

In California there is a whole set of procedural safeguards that go into effect for a student with an IEP if they are restrained. One of which is that the parent must be notified within 24 hours. I am uncertain if other states have such safeguards, but I believe many do not.

If your child has a "dangerous behavior" that results in a restraint you should request in writing to have an FAA (functional analysis assessment) and a BIP (behavior intervention plan) done immediately. Your child is entitled. There are many resources about discipline and behavioral issues at www.wrightslaw.com.

Answer 5

Restraints can be used if the child is a signifigant risk to himself or to others (and this can include signifigant property damage such as punching though walls or breaking windows).  It does not need to be written in the IEP, but the circumstances for it's use should be clearly outlined in the school discipline plan as well as any individual behavior plans a student may have.  The school does not have to notify you when this happens, however parents should always put a written request into a child's file to be notified if this occurs (especially important in your child has behavioral issues such as hitting, tossing desks, striking out at other students or teachers, etc.). If the use of restraint is part of the behavior plan for a student, you can ask if the personel in the program have been suitably trained in the safest ways of doing so.

Answer 6

Write to principal asking for a copy of hte disclipline report of this situation. THey are to have some type of documents, forms, etc that explain this whole situation. And they should also have this in your childs permanent educational files.

Write a letter to the district special ed director stating the whole situation.

Then state you are requesting a copy of the schools disclipline policy. This policy lists everything that the school is suppose to do for behavior issues.

If what they did is not on this list, they are in big trouble.

In the letter also request 'prior written notice' of this restraining.   If a child has an IEP plan, the school MUST by LAW give parents this whenever they do anything that has to do with 'free appropriate public education'  or FAPE.

Give a copy of this letter to the principal, superintendent, each member of the school board and the state dept of education.

Also have it written into the childs IEP plan that they are not to do this restraining, and then it will be ILLEGAL if they do it.