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Eanes ISD

Restraint & Time Out

In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC) § 37.0021 and Texas Administrative Code19 TAC § 89.1053, it is policy of the state of Texas to treat with dignity and respect all students, including students with disabilities who receive special education services. Any behavior management technique and/or discipline management practice must be implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of the student and others. No discipline management practice may be calculated to inflict injury, cause harm, demean, or deprive the student of basic human necessities.

Procedures for the Use of Restraint/Containment (§89.1053)

The legal definition of restraint/containment in the state of Texas means the use of physical force or a mechanical device to significantly restrict the free movement of all or a portion of the student’s body. Restraint/containment can only be used in an emergency.

An emergency means a situation in which a student’s behavior poses a threat of:

  • Imminent, serious physical harm to the student or others; or
  • Imminent, serious property damage

A school employee, volunteer, or independent contractor may use restraint only in an emergency with the following limitations.

  1. Restraint must be limited to the use of such reasonable force as is necessary to address the emergency.
  2. Restraint must be discontinued at the point at which the emergency no longer exists.
  3. Restraint must be implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of the student and others.
  4. Restraint must not deprive the student of basic human necessities.

Restraint/containment does not include the use of:

  • Physical contact or appropriately prescribed adaptive equipment to promote normative body positioning and/or physical functioning;
  • Limited physical contact with a student to promote safety (holding a student’s hand), prevent a potentially harmful action (running into the street), teach a skill, redirect attention, provide guidance to a location, or provide comfort; 
  • Limited physical contact or appropriately prescribed adaptive equipment to prevent a student from engaging in ongoing, repetitive, self-injurious behaviors, with the expectation that instruction will be reflected in the IEP to promote student learning and reduce and/or prevent the need for ongoing intervention
  • Seat belts and other safety equipment used to secure students during transportation.

Training on the use of restraint/containment

  • A core team of personnel on each campus must be trained in the use of restraint/containment, and the team must include a campus administrator or designee and any general or special education staff likely to use restraint/containment
  • Eanes ISD uses Satori Alternatives for Managing Aggression (SAMA) as its approved training protocol. SAMA provides instruction in current professional accepted practices and standards regarding behavior management and the use of restraint/containment. Prevention and de-escalation techniques along with alternative to the use of restraint/containment are included.
  • Personnel called upon to use restraint/containment in an emergency who have not received prior training must receive training within 30 school days following the use of restraint/containment.

Documentation on the use of restraint
In a case in which restraint is used, school employees, volunteers, or independent contractors must implement the following documentation requirements.

  • Documentation of each incidence of restraint/containment must be maintained using the form Eanes ISD Written Documentation of Restraint/Containment which contains the following information 1) Name of Student 2) Name of staff member(s) administering the restraint 3) date and time of the restraint
  • Case managers, regardless if they were involved in the actual restraint/containment or not, are expected to participate in the write up of the restraint/containment, ensure the paperwork is completed and distributed in a timely manner, and attend the restrain/containment review.
  • This form must be completed and given to the designated campus administrator, LSSP, and PEIMS clerk the day of the restraint/containment.
  • The LSSP must place the documentation of restraint in the student’s audit file within 5 days so the information is available to the ARD committee when it considers the impact of the student’s behavior on the student’s learning and or the creation or revision of a behavioral intervention plan (BIP).
  • Attempts must be made to verbally notify parent on the day of the use of restraint/containment either through a telephone call, voicemail, or face to face conference.
  • The form, along with a cover letter signed by the principal/administrator, must be mailed/delivered to parent within 24 hours of use of restraint/containment
  • Data on the use of restraint/containment must be reported on PEIMS.
  • Each campus is responsible for developing procedures for the campus specifying how this process will be implemented on the campus. This should include, but is not limited to, such things as who is responsible for notifying the parent, where the forms should be turned in, etc. The procedure must include which administrators on the campus should be contacted and who will sign the letter as well as what the case manager should do if the designated administrator(s) is (are) not on the campus at the time. Teachers and professional support staff cannot be designated as administrators for this purpose. 
  • Within 2 school days of the restraint, the campus LSSP will notify Molly May, Anne Nelson, and campus behavior specialist via email that a restraint has occurred. A scanned copy of the cover letter sent to the parent and the restraint form(s) sent to the parent should be attached to the email. 
  • The behavior specialist will work with the case manager to set up a meeting with members of the campus staff involved in the restraint/containment to review restraint/containment procedures and to problem solve alternative methods of managing behavior.

Procedures for the Use of Time-Out (§89.1053)
The legal definition of time-out in the State of Texas is a behavior management technique in which, to provide a student with an opportunity to regain self-control, the student is separated from other students for a limited period in a setting that is

  • Not locked and
  • From which the exit is not physically blocked by furniture, a closed door held shut from the outside, or another inanimate object

The use of time-out by EISD employees, volunteers, or independent contractors is allowable with the following limitations:

  • Physical force or threat of physical force shall not be used to place a student in time-out.
  • May be used only in conjunction with an array of positive behavior intervention strategies and techniques and must be included in the student’s IEP and /or BIP if it is utilized on a recurrent basis to increase or decrease a targeted behavior.
  • Shall not be implemented in a fashion that precludes the ability of the student to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum and advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals specified in the student’s IEP,
  • All staff likely to use time-out must be trained in SAMA, and time-out procedures which address a full continuum of positive behavioral intervention strategies and address the impact of time-out on the ability of the student to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum and advance toward the attaining annual goals addressed in the IEP.

Requirements for the Use of Time-Out:

  • Newly identified staff using time-out must receive training in the use of time-out within 30 days of being assigned responsibility for implementing time-out as specified by an IEP/BIP
  • Necessary documentation or data collection regarding the use of time-out, if any must be addressed in the IEP or BIP. The ARD committee must use the collected data to judge the effectiveness of the intervention and provide a basis for making determination regarding its continued use.

Seclusion
Seclusion means a behavior management technique in which a student is confined in a locked box, locked closet, or locked room that:

  • is designed solely to seclude a person; and
  • contains less than 50 square feet of space.

A school district employee or volunteer or an independent contractor of a district MAY NOT place a student in seclusion.


*Restraint is the term used in The Texas Education Code and Texas Administrative Code. Containment is the term used by the Eanes ISD adopted Satori Alternatives for Managing Aggression (SAMA). In all EISD documentation regarding restraint/containment, these two terms are synonymous.