1.This Act may be cited as
the Keeping All Students Safe
Act
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term applicable program has the meaning
given the term in section 400(c)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (20
U.S.C. 1221(c)(1)).
(2)The term chemical restraint means a drug
or medication used on a student to control behavior or restrict freedom of
movement that is not—
(A)prescribed by a
licensed physician, or other qualified health professional acting under the
scope of the professional’s authority under State law, for the standard
treatment of a student’s medical or psychiatric condition; and
(B)administered as
prescribed by the licensed physician or other qualified health professional
acting under the scope of the professional’s authority under State law.
(3)The terms—
(A)Department,
educational service agency, elementary school,
local educational agency, parent, secondary
school, State, and State educational agency
have the meanings given such terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and
(B)school
resource officer and school personnel have the meanings
given such terms in section 4151 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7161).
(4)Federal
financial assistanceThe term Federal financial
assistance means any grant, loan, contract (other than a procurement
contract or a contract of insurance or guaranty), or any other arrangement by
which the Department provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the
form of—
(A)funds;
(B)services of
Federal personnel; or
(C)real and personal
property or any interest in or use of such property, including—
(i)transfers or
leases of such property for less than fair market value or for reduced
consideration; and
(ii)proceeds from a
subsequent transfer or lease of such property if the Federal share of its fair
market value is not returned to the Federal Government.
(5)Free
appropriate public educationFor those students eligible for
special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the term free appropriate public
education has the meaning given the term in section 602 of such Act (20
U.S.C. 1401).
(6)The term mechanical restraint—
(A)has the meaning
given the term in section 595(d)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
290jj(d)(1)), except that the meaning shall be applied by substituting
student's
for resident's
; and
(B)does not mean
devices used by trained school personnel, or used by a student, for the
specific and approved therapeutic or safety purposes for which such devices
were designed and, if applicable, prescribed, including—
(i)restraints for
medical immobilization;
(ii)adaptive devices
or mechanical supports used to allow greater freedom of mobility than would be
possible without the use of such devices or mechanical supports; or
(iii)vehicle safety
restraints when used as intended during the transport of a student in a moving
vehicle.
(7)The term physical escort means the temporary
touching or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, waist, hip, or back for
the purpose of inducing a student to move to a safe location.
(8)The term physical restraint means a
personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of an individual
to move the individual's arms, legs, body, or head freely. Such term does not
include a physical escort, mechanical restraint, or chemical restraint.
(9)Positive
behavioral interventions and supportsThe term positive
behavioral interventions and supports—
(A)means a
school-wide systematic approach to embed evidence-based practices and
data-driven decisionmaking to improve school climate and culture in order to
achieve improved academic and social outcomes, and increase learning for all
students, including those with the most complex and intensive behavioral needs;
and
(B)encompasses a
range of systemic and individualized positive strategies to reinforce desired
behaviors, diminish reoccurrence of challenging behaviors, and teach
appropriate behaviors to students.
(10)Protection and
advocacy systemThe term protection and advocacy
system means a protection and advocacy system established under subtitle
C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.).
(11)The
term seclusion means the isolation of a student in a room,
enclosure, or space that is—
(A)locked; or
(B)unlocked and the
student is prevented from leaving.
(12)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Education, and, where
appropriate, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense.
(13)The term serious bodily injury has the
meaning given the term in section 1365(h) of title 18, United States
Code.
(14)State-approved
crisis intervention training programThe term
State-approved crisis intervention training program means a
training program approved by a State that, at a minimum, provides training in
evidence-based practices shown to be effective—
(A)in the prevention
of the use of physical restraint;
(B)in keeping both
school personnel and students safe in imposing physical restraint in a manner
consistent with this Act;
(C)in the use of
data-based decisionmaking and evidence-based positive behavioral interventions
and supports, safe physical escort, conflict prevention, behavioral
antecedents, functional behavioral assessments, de-escalation of challenging
behaviors, and conflict management;
(D)in first aid,
including the signs of medical distress, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
and
(E)certification for
school personnel in the practices and skills described in subparagraphs (A)
through (D), which shall be required to be renewed on a periodic basis.
(15)The
term student means a student who—
(A)is enrolled in a
public school;
(B)is enrolled in a
private school and is receiving a free appropriate public education at the
school under subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 612(a)(10) of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(10)(B), (C));
(C)is enrolled in a
Head Start or Early Head Start program supported under the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9831); or
(D)receives services
under section 619 or part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1419, 1431 et seq.).
3.The purposes of this Act are—
(1)to promote the
development of effective intervention and prevention practices that do not use
restraints and seclusion;
(2)to protect all students from physical or
mental abuse, aversive behavioral interventions that compromise health and
safety, and any restraint imposed for purposes of coercion, discipline or
convenience, or as a substitute for appropriate educational or positive
behavioral interventions and supports;
(3)to ensure that staff are safe from the harm
that can occur from inexpertly using restraints; and
(4)to ensure the safety of all students and
school personnel and promote positive school culture and climate.
4.Minimum
standards; rule of constructionEach State and local educational agency
receiving Federal financial assistance shall have in place policies that are
consistent with the following:
(1)Prohibition of
certain actionSchool personnel, contractors, and resource
officers are prohibited from imposing on any student—
(A)seclusion;
(B)mechanical
restraint;
(C)chemical
restraint;
(D)aversive
behavioral interventions that compromise health and safety;
(E)physical
restraint that is life-threatening, including physical restraint that restricts
breathing; and
(F)physical
restraint if contraindicated based on the student’s disability, health care
needs, or medical or psychiatric condition, as documented in a health care
directive or medical management plan, a behavior intervention plan, an
individualized education program or an individualized family service plan (as
defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. 1401)), or plan developed pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), or other relevant record made available to the
State or local educational agency.
(2)
(A)Physical restraint may only be implemented if—
(i)the
student’s behavior poses an immediate danger of serious bodily injury to self
or others;
(ii)the physical
restraint does not interfere with the student’s ability to communicate in the
student's primary language or mode of communication; and
(iii)less
restrictive interventions have been ineffective in stopping the immediate
danger of serious bodily injury to the student or others, except in a case of a
rare and clearly unavoidable emergency circumstance posing immediate danger of
serious bodily injury.
(B)Least amount of
force necessaryWhen implementing a physical restraint, staff
shall use only the amount of force necessary to protect the student or others
from the threatened injury.
(C)End of physical
restraintThe use of physical restraint shall end when—
(i)a
medical condition occurs putting the student at risk of harm;
(ii)the student’s
behavior no longer poses an immediate danger of serious bodily injury to the
student or others; or
(iii)less
restrictive interventions would be effective in stopping such immediate danger
of serious bodily injury.
(D)Qualifications
of individuals engaging in physical restraintSchool personnel
imposing physical restraint in accordance with this subsection shall—
(i)be
trained and certified by a State-approved crisis intervention training program,
except in the case of rare and clearly unavoidable emergency circumstances when
school personnel trained and certified are not immediately available due to the
unforeseeable nature of the emergency circumstance;
(ii)engage in
continuous face-to-face monitoring of the student; and
(iii)be trained in
State and school policies and procedures regarding restraint and
seclusion.
(E)Prohibition on
use of physical restraint as planned interventionThe use of
physical restraints as a planned intervention shall not be written into a
student’s education plan, individual safety plan, plan developed pursuant to
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), individualized
education program or individualized family service plan (as defined in section
602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)), or
any other planning document for an individual student.
(3)
(A)The State or local educational agency, and each school
and educational program served by the State or local educational agency
shall—
(i)establish
policies and procedures that ensure school personnel and parents, including
private school personnel and parents, are aware of the State, local educational
agency, and school's policies and procedures regarding seclusion and
restraint;
(ii)establish
policies and procedures to keep all students, including students with the most
complex and intensive behavioral needs, and school personnel safe;
(iii)establish
policies and procedures for planning for the appropriate use of restraint in
crisis situations in accordance with this Act by a team of professionals
trained in accordance with a State-approved crisis intervention training
program; and
(iv)establish
policies and procedures to be followed after each incident involving the
imposition of physical restraint upon a student, including—
(I)procedures to
provide to the parent of the student, with respect to each such
incident—
- (aa)a
verbal or electronic communication on the same day as each such incident;
and
- (bb)within 24 hours
of each such incident, written notification; and
(II)after the
imposition of physical restraint upon a student, procedures to ensure that all
school personnel in the proximity of the student immediately before and during
the time of the restraint, the parent, the student, appropriate supervisory and
administrative staff, and appropriate IEP team members, participate in a
debriefing session.
(B)
(i)The debriefing session described in subparagraph
(A)(iv)(II) shall occur as soon as practicable, but not later than 5 school
days following the imposition of physical restraint unless it is delayed by
written mutual agreement of the parent and school. Parents shall retain their
full legal rights for children under the age of majority concerning
participation in the debriefing or other matters.
(ii)The debriefing session described in subparagraph
(A)(iv)(II) shall include—
(I)identification of
antecedents to the physical restraint;
(II)consideration of
relevant information in the student’s records, and such information from
teachers, other professionals, the parent, and student;
(III)planning to
prevent and reduce reoccurrence of the use of physical restraint, including
consideration of the results of any functional behavioral assessments, whether
positive behavior plans were implemented with fidelity, recommendations of
appropriate positive behavioral interventions and supports to assist personnel
responsible for the student’s educational plan, the individualized education
program for the student, if applicable, and plans providing for reasonable
accommodations under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794);
(IV)a plan to have a
functional behavioral assessment conducted, reviewed, or revised by qualified
professionals, the parent, and the student; and
(V)for any student
not identified as eligible to receive accommodations under section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or services under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), evidence of such a
referral or documentation of the basis for declining to refer the
student.
(iii)Communication
by the studentWhen a student attends a debriefing session
described in subparagraph (A)(iv)(II), information communicated by the student
may not be used against the student in any disciplinary, criminal, or civil
investigation or proceeding.
(4)Notification in
writing on death or bodily injuryIn a case in which serious
bodily injury or death of a student occurs in conjunction with the use of
physical restraint or any intervention used to control behavior, there are
procedures to notify, in writing, within 24 hours after such injury or death
occurs—
(A)the State
educational agency and local educational agency;
(B)local law
enforcement; and
(C)a protection and
advocacy system, in the case of a student who is eligible for services from the
protection and advocacy system.
(5)Prohibition
against retaliationThe State or local educational agency, each
school and educational program served by the State or local educational agency,
and school personnel of such school or program shall not retaliate against any
person for having—
(A)reported a
violation of this section or Federal or State regulations or policies
promulgated to carry out this section; or
(B)provided
information regarding a violation of this section or Federal or State
regulations or policies promulgated to carry out this section.
5.
(a)Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to restrict or limit, or allow the Secretary to restrict
or limit, any other rights or remedies otherwise available to students or
parents under Federal or State law (including regulations) or to restrict or
limit stronger restrictions on the use of restraint, seclusion, or aversives in
Federal or State law (including regulations) or in State policies.
(b)Denial of a
free appropriate public educationFailure to meet the minimum standards of
this Act as applied to an individual child eligible for accommodations
developed pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794) or for education or related services under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) shall constitute a denial
of a free appropriate public education.
6.
(a)Each State
educational agency shall (in compliance with the requirements of section 444 of
the General Education Provisions Act (commonly known as the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
) (20 U.S.C. 1232g)) prepare
and submit to the Secretary, and make available to the public, a report with
respect to each local educational agency, and each school not under the
jurisdiction of a local educational agency, located in the same State as such
State educational agency that includes the following information:
(1)The total number
of incidents in which physical restraint was imposed upon a student in the
preceding full academic year.
(2)The information
described in paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated—
(A)by the total
number of incidents in which physical restraint was imposed upon a
student—
(i)that resulted in
injury to students or school personnel, or both;
(ii)that resulted in
death; and
(iii)in which the
school personnel imposing physical restraint were not trained and certified as
described in section 4(2)(D)(i); and
(B)by the
demographic characteristics of all students upon whom physical restraint was
imposed, including—
(i)the
subcategories identified in section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)(i));
(ii)age; and
(iii)disability
category.
(b)Unduplicated
count; exceptionThe disaggregation required under subsection (a)
shall—
(1)be carried out in
a manner to ensure an unduplicated count of the total number of incidents in
the preceding full academic year in which physical restraint was imposed upon a
student; and
(2)not be required
in a case in which the number of students in a category would reveal personally
identifiable information about an individual student.
7.
(a)From the amount
appropriated under section 9, the Secretary may award grants to State
educational agencies to assist in—
(1)establishing,
implementing, and enforcing the policies and procedures to meet the minimum
standards described in this Act;
(2)improving State
and local capacity to collect and analyze data related to physical restraint;
and
(3)improving school
climate and culture by implementing school-wide positive behavioral
interventions and supports.
(b)A grant under this section shall be awarded to a State
educational agency for a 3-year period.
(c)Each
State educational agency desiring a grant under this section shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by
such information as the Secretary may require, including information on how the
State educational agency will target resources to schools and local educational
agencies in need of assistance related to preventing and reducing physical
restraint.
(d)Authority To
make subgrants
(1)A State educational agency receiving a grant under this
section may use such grant funds to award subgrants, on a competitive basis, to
local educational agencies.
(2)A
local educational agency desiring to receive a subgrant under this section
shall submit an application to the applicable State educational agency at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State educational
agency may require.
(e)Private school
participation
(1)A State educational agency receiving grant funds under
this section shall, after timely and meaningful consultation with appropriate
private school officials, ensure that private school personnel can participate,
on an equitable basis, in activities supported by grant or subgrant
funds.
(2)The control of funds provided under this section, and
title to materials, equipment, and property with such funds, shall be in a
public agency and a public agency shall administer such funds, materials,
equipment, and property.
(f)A State educational agency receiving a grant, or a
local educational agency receiving a subgrant, under this section shall use
such grant or subgrant funds to carry out the following:
(1)Researching,
developing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based strategies, policies,
and procedures to reduce and prevent physical restraint in schools, consistent
with the minimum standards described in this Act.
(2)Providing
professional development, training, and certification for school personnel to
meet such standards.
(g)Additional
authorized activitiesIn addition to the required activities
described in subsection (f), a State educational agency receiving a grant, or a
local educational agency receiving a subgrant, under this section may use such
grant or subgrant funds for 1 or more of the following:
(1)Developing and
implementing a high-quality professional development and training program to
implement evidence-based systematic approaches to school-wide positive
behavioral interventions and supports, including improving coaching,
facilitation, and training capacity for administrators, teachers, specialized
instructional support personnel, and other staff.
(2)Providing
technical assistance to develop and implement evidence-based systematic
approaches to school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports,
including technical assistance for data-driven decisionmaking related to
positive behavioral interventions and supports in the classroom.
(3)Researching,
evaluating, and disseminating high-quality evidence-based programs and
activities that implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and
supports with fidelity.
(4)Supporting other
local positive behavioral interventions and supports implementation activities
consistent with this subsection.
(h)Each State educational agency receiving a grant under this
section shall, at the end of the 3-year grant period for such grant—
(1)evaluate the
State’s progress toward the prevention and reduction of physical restraint in
the schools located in the State, consistent with the minimum standards;
and
(2)submit to the
Secretary a report on such progress.
8.
(a)If a State
educational agency fails to comply with the requirements under this Act, the
Secretary shall—
(1)withhold, in
whole or in part, further payments under an applicable program in accordance
with section 455 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.
1234d);
(2)require a State
or local educational agency to submit, and implement, within 1 year of such
failure to comply, a corrective plan of action, which may include redirection
of funds received under an applicable program;
(3)issue a complaint
to compel compliance of the State or local educational agency through a cease
and desist order, in the same manner the Secretary is authorized to take such
action under section 456 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.
1234e); or
(4)refer the State
to the Department of Justice or Department of Education Office of Civil Rights
for an investigation.
(b)Cessation of
withholding of fundsWhenever the Secretary determines (whether
by certification or other appropriate evidence) that a State or local
educational agency that is subject to the withholding of payments under
subsection (a)(1) has cured the failure providing the basis for the withholding
of payments, the Secretary shall cease the withholding of payments with respect
to the State educational agency under such subsection.
9.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
Act for fiscal year 2012 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.