Use of Physical Intervention and Restraint: JKA-R

In accordance with Colorado law and the State Board of Education rules governing the administration of the Protection of Persons from Restraint Act, the following definitions apply for purposes of this regulation and accompanying policy.

1. “Restraint” is defined as any method or device used to involuntarily limit the freedom of movement, including bodily physical force, mechanical devices, chemicals, and seclusion.  With certain exceptions, prone, mechanical, and chemical restraints shall not be used.
2. “Physical restraint” means the use of bodily, physical force to involuntarily limit an individual’s freedom of movement for one (1) minute or more. “Physical restraint” does not include:
   1. the use of protective or adaptive devices for providing physical support, prevention of injury, or voluntary or life-saving medical procedures;
   2. holding of a student for less than one (1) minute by a staff member for the protection of the student or others, except that nothing in this policy may be interpreted to permit the holding of a student in a prone position, except as described below (“Momentary Holds”);
   3. brief holding of a student by one adult for the purpose of calming or comforting the student (“Physical Co-Regulation”);
   4. minimal physical contact for the purpose of safely escorting a student from one area to another (“Physical Escort”); or
   5. minimal physical contact for the purpose of assisting the student in completing a task or response (“Physical Prompting”).
3. “Mechanical restraint” means a physical device used to involuntarily restrict the movement of a student or the movement or normal function of the student’s body. “Mechanical restraint” does not include:
   1. devices recommended by a physician, occupational therapist, or physical therapist and agreed to by a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team or Section 504 team and used in accordance with the student’s IEP or Section 504 plan;
   2. protective devices such as helmets, mitts, and similar devices used to prevent self-injury and in accordance with a student’s IEP or Section 504 plan;
   3. adaptive devices to facilitate instruction or therapy and used as recommended by an occupational therapist or physical therapist, and consistent with a student’s IEP or Section 504 plan; or
   4. positioning or securing devices used to allow treatment of a student’s medical needs.
4. “Chemical restraint” means administering medication to a student (including medications prescribed by the student’s physician) on an as needed basis for the sole purpose of involuntarily limiting the student’s freedom of movement. “Chemical restraint” does not include:
   1. prescription medication that is regularly administered to the student for medical reasons other than to restrain the student’s freedom of movement (e.g. Ashtma-cort, medications used to treat mood disorders or ADHD, Glucagon); or
   2. the administration of medication for voluntary or life-saving medical procedures (e.g. EpiPens, Diastat).
5. “Seclusion” means the placement of a student alone in a room from which egress is involuntarily prevented.  Unlike physical restraints, there is no minimum time limit that triggers a seclusion.  Rather, if a student is placed alone in a room for which egress is involuntarily prevented for any amount of time, this constitutes a seclusion, and the duties and notification requirements apply. “Seclusion” does not mean:
   1. placement of a student in residential services in the student’s room for the night; or
   2. “time-out,” which means the removal of a student from potentially rewarding people or situations.  A time-out is not used primarily to confine the student but to limit accessibility to reinforcement.  In time-out, the student is not physically prevented from leaving the designated time-out area and is effectively monitored by staff. 
6. “Emergency” means serious, probable, imminent threat of bodily injury to self or others with the present ability to effect such bodily injury. Emergency includes situations in which the student creates such a threat by abusing or destroying property.  If property damage might be involved, restraint may only be used when the destruction of property could possibly result in bodily harm to the individual or another person. 
7. “Prone restraint” means a restraint in which the student being restrained is secured in a prone (i.e. face-down) position.
8. “Parent” means the student’s parent or legal guardian as defined by the State Board Rules. 

Restraint shall not be used as a form of discipline or to gain compliance from a student.

Chemical restraints shall not be used.

Mechanical and prone restraints shall not be used, except in the limited circumstances permitted by state law.

Staff may use restraint only in an emergency and with extreme caution and after the failure of less restrictive alternatives (such as positive behavior supports, constructive and non-physical de-escalation, and restructuring the environment) or the staff member determines that such alternatives would be inappropriate or ineffective under the circumstances. If property damage might be involved, restraint may only be used when the destruction of property could possibly result in bodily harm to the individual or another person.   

School personnel shall use restraints only for the period of time necessary and using no more force than necessary and shall prioritize the prevention of harm to the student.

When restraints are used, District staff shall ensure that:

1. restraints are only administered by District staff who have received training in accordance with the State Board rules;
2. no restraint is administered in such a way that the student is inhibited or impeded from breathing or communicating;
3. no restraint is administered in such a way that places excess pressure on the student’s chest, back, or causes positional asphyxia;
4. a restrained student shall be continuously monitored to ensure that the breathing of the student in such physical restraint is not compromised;
5. a person administering physical restraint must use only the amount of force necessary to stop the dangerous or violent actions of the student;
6. the student is continually monitored during seclusions and physical restraints to ensure the student’s physical safety;
7. relief periods from seclusion shall be provided for reasonable access to toilet facilities;
8. opportunities to have the restraint removed are provided to the student who indicates he/she is willing to cease the violent or dangerous behavior;
9. when it is determined by trained District staff that the restraint is no longer necessary to protect the student or others (i.e. the emergency no longer exists), the restraint shall be removed and in the case of seclusion, staff shall reintegrate the student or clearly communicate to the student that (s)he is free to leave the area used to seclude the student; and
10. A student shall be released from physical restraint within fifteen minutes after the initiation of the restraint, except when precluded for safety reasons.

Any space where a student is secluded shall have adequate lighting, ventilation, and size, be free of injurious items, and have at least one window for monitoring when the door is closed.  If the space does not have a window, monitoring shall be conducted through a video camera.

If the school uses a designated seclusion room, then the room shall be dedicated to the purpose of de-escalating students in a safe manner and shall not be a room that is used by school staff for storage, custodial, or office space.

1. If there is a reasonable probability that restraint might be used with a particular student, appropriate school staff shall notify, in writing, the student’s parents, and, if appropriate, the student of:
   1. The restraint procedures (including types of restraints) that might be used;
   2. specific circumstances in which restraint might be used; and
   3. staff involved.
2. For students with disabilities, if the parents request a meeting with school personnel to discuss the notification, school personnel shall ensure that the meeting is convened.
3. The required notification may occur at the meeting where the student’s behavior plan or IEP is developed/reviewed.

Notification & Documentation of Brief Physical Restraints (This process does not include seclusions, which shall be documented as outlined below)

1. For physical restraints lasting one (1) minute or more, but less than five (5) minutes, the school shall provide parents written notice on the day of the restraint, which shall include the following information:
   1. the name of the student;
   2. the date; and
   3. the number of restraints that day that lasted between one (1) and five (5) minutes.
2. A copy of the written notice shall be placed in the student’s educational record and forwarded to the Director of Special Education or designee.

Notification & Documentation of other Restraints

1. For all seclusions and physical restraints lasting five (5) minutes or more, the school principal or designee shall verbally notify the student’s parents as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the school day, that the restraint was used.
2. Within one (1) school day, the staff involved shall submit a written report regarding the incident to the school administration.
3. Within two (2) school days, appropriate school staff shall meet to review the incident.  This review shall include, but not be limited to:
   1. review of the incident, including review of the written report submitted by the staff involved and any related documentation to ensure the use of alternative strategies;
   2. recommendations for adjustment of procedures, if appropriate; and
   3. follow-up communication with the student and student’s family.
4. A written report based on the findings of the staff review shall be e-mailed, faxed, or mailed to the student’s parent within five (5) calendar days of the use of restraint. The written report of the use of restraint shall include:
   1. the antecedent to the student’s behavior, if known;
   2. a description of the incident;
   3. efforts made to de-escalate the situation;
   4. alternatives that were attempted;
   5. the type and duration of the restraint used;
   6. injuries that occurred, if any; and
   7. the staff present and staff involved in administering the restraint.
5. A copy of the written report shall be placed in the student’s educational record and forwarded to the Director of Special Education or designee.
6. If requested by the District or the student’s parents, the District shall convene a meeting with parents to review the incident.  For students with IEPs or Section 504 plans, such review may occur through the IEP or Section 504 process.

1. The District shall establish, conduct, and document in writing a general review at least annually. The purpose of the general review is to ascertain that the District is properly administering restraint, identifying additional training needs, minimizing and preventing the use of restraint by increasing the use of positive behavior interventions, and reducing the incidence of injury to students and staff.
2. The review shall include, but is not limited to:
   1. an analysis of incident reports, including all reports prepared to fulfill the documentation requirements outlined in the policy but not limited to procedures used during the restraint, the preventative or alternative techniques tried, and staff compliance with documentation and review requirements;
   2. training needs of staff;
   3. staff to student ratio; and
   4. environmental conditions, including physical space, student seating arrangements, and noise levels.
3. Data from the annual review must be submitted to the Colorado Department of Education beginning no later than June 30, 2023 and every June 30 thereafter.

1. The District shall ensure that staff, utilizing restraint in schools, is trained in accordance with the State Board rules.
2. Training shall include:
   1. a continuum of prevention techniques;
   2. environmental management;
   3. a continuum of de-escalation techniques;
   4. nationally recognized physical management and restraint practices, including, but not limited to, techniques that allow restraint in an upright or sitting position and information about the dangers created by prone restraint;
   5. methods to explain the use of restraint to the student who is to be restrained and to the student’s family; and
   6. appropriate documentation and notification procedures.
3. Retraining shall occur at a frequency of at least every two years.

1. A school officer or law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity on school grounds, in a school vehicle, or at a school activity or sanctioned event shall not use handcuffs (i.e. mechanical restraint) on any student, unless there is a danger to themselves or others or handcuffs are used during a custodial arrest that requires transport.
2. This prohibition on the use of mechanical or prone restraints in this policy shall not apply:
   1. to armed security officers or certified peace officers working in a District school when the officer (a) has received documented training in defensive tactics utilizing handcuffing procedures and in restraint tactics utilizing prone restraint and (b) has made a referral to a law enforcement agency; and
   2. when a student is openly displaying a deadly weapon such as a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, a knife, bludgeon, or any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substances, whether animate or inanimate, that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury as that term is defined in C.R.S. § 18-1-901(3)(p).

Latest Revision: February 8, 2024