Policy JKAA: Physical Restraint

Maintaining a school environment that is conducive to student learning requires that the environment be orderly and safe. Physical restraint of a student may sometimes be necessary to protect the student or other individuals. Physical restraint is the use of bodily force to limit a student’s freedom of movement. Students in the district are protected by law from the unreasonable use of physical restraint. Physical restraint will be used with extreme caution and only in emergency situations, after other less intrusive alternatives have failed or been deemed inappropriate.

The two goals of the physical restraint policy are:

1. To administer physical restraint only when needed to protect a student and/or member of the school community from imminent, serious, physical harm, and

2. To prevent or minimize any harm to the student as a result of the use of physical restraint.

The School District’s emphasis is on prevention and de-escalation, which reduces the risk of injury to both students and program staff. The emphasis is always on the care, safety, and welfare of our students and the primary technique used is verbal de-escalation.

Physical restraint may only be used when non-physical interventions would not be effective, and the student’s behavior poses a threat of imminent, serious, physical harm to self and/or others.

The administrator in charge of Special Education or his/her designee will provide all staff with guidelines and procedural information regarding physical restraint. The only school personnel who should physically restrain children are those who have been trained through an approved Restraint Training Program. The only physical restraints to be used are those taught by the approved Restraint Training Program.

Each building will provide its staff with a list of the school’s personnel who have been trained through the Restraint Training Program. Whenever possible, these trained staff members will be called upon to administer physical restraint in situations where a student’s behavior poses a threat of imminent, serious, physical harm to self and/or others. However, nothing in 603 CMR 46.00 precludes any teacher or employee from using reasonable force to protect students, other persons, or themselves from assault or imminent, serious, physical harm. In addition, nothing in these regulations should interfere with or prohibit law enforcement, judicial authorities or mandated reporter responsibilities.

The district will adhere to all laws and state regulations governing physical restraint.