FILE:  IDDF

Cf:  IDDFA, IDDFC

EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH EXCEPTIONALITIES

The Vermilion Parish School Board shall make available a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive educational environment to each student with an exceptionality, ages three through twenty-one, who is a resident of the geographical boundaries of the school district.  Generally, identified children shall be screened and evaluated to determine eligibility to receive special education and related services.  If it is determined through the evaluation process that a child has a disability and, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services, then the child is classified in accordance with Louisiana’s Pupil Appraisal Handbook, Bulletin 1508, and becomes eligible to receive special education services.  All special education services shall be provided to eligible students with exceptionalities in accordance with the regulations outlined in Regulations for the Implementation of the Exceptional Children's Act, Bulletin 1706.

The Vermilion Parish School Board shall establish and maintain regulations and procedures in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations to ensure that students with exceptionalities and their parents are provided the necessary procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of free appropriate public education by the Vermilion Parish School Board.  These procedures specifically address the statutory requirements of La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:416.21, Act 479 of the 2025 Louisiana Legislature, and Bulletin 1706 regarding the use of seclusion and restraint as emergency safety measures to control the actions of students with exceptionalities in Louisiana’s public schools.

SECLUSION AND RESTRAINT

The School Board recognizes that, in order for students to receive a free appropriate public education, a safe learning environment needs to be provided.  In doing so, the School Board also recognizes that there are circumstances in school under which reasonable and appropriate measures and techniques will need to be employed in dealing with students with exceptionalities who pose an imminent risk of harm to self or others.

The School Board fully supports the use of positive behavior interventions and support when addressing student behavior.  The School Board reserves its right, however, to use physical restraint and/or seclusion consistent with state law and regulations to address the behavior of a student with exceptionality when school personnel reasonably believe the behavior poses an imminent risk of harm to the student or others.  The School Board shall not preclude the use of physical restraint and/or seclusion performed consistent with the requirements of a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or behavior intervention/management plan.

The provisions regarding seclusion and restraint shall not be applicable to a student who has been deemed to be gifted or talented under Bulletin 1508, unless the student has been identified as also having a disability.

Definitions

Crisis Intervention - The implementation of an action plan for school personnel to implement when a student exhibits disruptive behaviors that prevent him from participating in classroom or daily activities.  Crisis intervention may include the following:

• The use of positive behavioral supports and sensory rooms or other calming spaces intentionally designed to help comfort and stabilize a student so that he may return to the classroom or daily activities.
  
  

• In extraordinary circumstances, the use of seclusion and physical restraint as a means to safely de-escalate a situation in which a student poses a risk of imminent risk of harm to self or others.
  
  

• Information about a school's use of crisis intervention, including the proper use of seclusion and physical restraint, shall be included in a school's student handbook and made available to the parent and legal guardian of each student with an Individualized Education Program or Behavioral Intervention Plan.

Imminent Risk of Harm - An immediate and impending threat of a person causing substantial physical injury to self or others.

Mechanical Restraint - The application of any device or object (i.e. tape, ropes, weights) used to limit an individual’s body movement to prevent or manage out-of-control behavior.  The term does NOT include the following:

• A protective or stabilizing device used in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions for proper use and which is used in compliance with orders issued by an appropriately licensed health care provider.
  
  

• Any device used by a duly licensed law enforcement officer in the execution of his official duties.

Physical Restraint - The use of manual restraint techniques that involve physical force applied to restrict the movement of all or part of a person's body.  The term does NOT include the following:

• Consensual, solicited or unintentional contact.
  
  

• Momentary blocking of a student’s action if the student’s action is likely to result in harm to the student or any other person.
  
  

• A school employee holding a student for less than three consecutive minutes within any given hour for the protection of the student or others.
  
  

• A school employee holding a student for the purpose of calming or comforting the student-provided the student’s freedom of movement or normal access to his/her body is not restricted.
  
  

• Minimal physical contact for the purpose of safely escorting a student from one area to another.
  
  

• Minimal physical contact for the purpose of assisting the student in completing a task or maybe response.

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support - A systematic approach to embed evidence based practices and data-driven decision making when addressing student behavior in order to improve climate and culture.

School Employee - A teacher, paraprofessional, administrator, support staff member, or a provider of related services.

School Health Designee - A school employee designated to assess the use of seclusion and physical restraint in the event that a school nurse is not present on a school campus at the time such measure is used.

Seclusion - A procedure that isolates and confines a student in a designated separate room or area until he/she is no longer an imminent risk of harm to self or others.

Seclusion Room - A room or other confined area, used on an individual basis, in which a student is removed from the regular classroom setting for a limited time to allow the student the opportunity to regain control in a safe, secure, and supervised setting and from which the student is involuntarily prevented from leaving until he is no longer at risk of imminent harm to self or others.  A seclusion room shall:

• Be free of any object that poses a danger to the student placed in the room.
  
  

• Have an observation window and be of a size that is appropriate for the student's size, behavior, and chronological and developmental age.
  
  

• Have a ceiling height and heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting systems comparable to operating classrooms in the school.

Sensory Room - A room or space that is used for the monitored separation of a student in an unlocked setting in which school personnel may use positive behavioral interventions and support to help to calm or stabilize a student's disruptive behavior.  A sensory room may also be referred to as a "calming room", "calming space", "comfort room", "comfort space", "sensory space", "timeout room", or "timeout space".  The appropriate use of sensory rooms shall not be considered seclusion, which shall only be used for the limited purpose of responding to a student posing an imminent risk of harm to self or others

Written Guidelines and Procedures - The written guidelines and procedures adopted by a public school governing authority regarding appropriate responses to school behavior that may require immediate intervention.

SECLUSION

Seclusion is prohibited:

1. As a routine school safety, discipline, or intervention measure.
   
   

2. To address behaviors such as general noncompliance, self-stimulation, and academic refusal, and other behaviors that, while disruptive to a classroom setting or other daily school activities, do not present an imminent risk of harm to self or others.
   
   

3. School employees shall respond to such behaviors with less stringent and less restrictive techniques, such as those included in a school's or student's crisis intervention plan or a student's Individualized Education Program or Behavioral Intervention Plan.
   
   

4. As a form of discipline or punishment.
   
   

5. As a threat to control, bully, or obtain behavioral compliance.
   
   

6. For the convenience of school personnel.
   
   

7. When unreasonable, unsafe, or unwarranted.
   
   

8. If the student is known to have any medical or psychological condition that precludes such action (as certified by a licensed pediatrician, neurologist, or mental health provider in a written statement provided to the school in which the student is enrolled.

PHYSICAL RESTRAINT

Physical Restraint is permitted only under the following conditions:

1. If the student’s behavior presents a threat of imminent risk of harm to self or others,
   
   

2. As a last resort to protect the safety of self and others,
   
   

3. To the degree necessary to stop dangerous behavior,
   
   

4. In a manner that causes NO PHYSICAL INJURY,
   
   

5. Results in the least possible discomfort to the student,
   
   

6. Does not interfere in any way with a student’s breathing or ability to communicate with others,
   
   

7. By trained personnel, except in emergency situations in which there is not sufficient time to have trained personnel respond.  Minimum training requirements shall be specified in rules promulgated by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
   
   

8. Does not involve the use of any form of mechanical restraint,
   
   

9. The student is not physically restrained in a manner that places excessive pressure on the student’s chest or back or that causes asphyxia, and
   
   

10. Is applied only in a manner that is disproportionate to the circumstances and to the student’s size, age, and severity of behavior.

Physical Restraint is prohibited:

1. As a form of discipline or punishment,
   
   

2. As a threat to control, bully, or obtain behavioral compliance,
   
   

3. For the convenience of school personnel,
   
   

4. When unreasonable, unsafe, or unwarranted, and
   
   

5. If the student is known to have any medical or psychological condition that precludes such action (as certified by a licensed pediatrician, neurologist, or mental health provider in a written statement provided to the school in which the student is enrolled.)

NOTIFICATION

This policy and the guidelines and procedures maintained by the Superintendent, each principal, or the principal's designee shall be provided to all school employees and each each parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled at the school with an Individualized Education Program of the prohibition of the use of seclusion and physical restraint if the student has a condition or is known to have any medical or psychological condition that precludes such action, as certified by a licensed pediatrician, neurologist, or mental health provider in a written statement provided to the school in which the student is enrolled.  Such notification shall be made annually and be incorporated into the student's Individualized Education Program meeting.

• A school employee shall release a student from seclusion and physical restraint as soon as the reasons for justifying such action have subsided.  Upon the student’s release from seclusion or physical restraint:

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  • The school employee who secluded or physically restrained the student shall notify the school principal and the principal or his designee shall notify electronically the director or supervisor of special education as soon as is practicable but no later than one hour following the release of the student, or the end of the same school day, whichever occurs first.
    
    

  • The school employee who secluded or physically restrained the student or a school administrator shall notify the parent or legal guardian of the student via a phone call as soon as is practicable, but no later than the end of the same school day.

   

• A school nurse or school health designee shall visit the student as soon as possible, but no later than the end of the same school day, to look for and document any signs of injury or distress.
  
  

• A school employee who secluded or physically restrained a student shall document and report the incident in accordance with the policies adopted by the public school governing authority.  The employee shall submit such report to the school principal by the end of the next school day following the incident.  The principal or his designee shall submit the report to the parent by the end of the next school day following receipt of the report.  At a minimum, the incident report shall include the following:

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  • The name, age, grade, gender, race, and disability of the student secluded or restrained.
    
    

  • The date, time, location, and duration of the seclusion or physical restraint.
    
    

  • The name and title of each school employee involved and who was a witness.
    
    

  • A description of the events requiring the use of seclusion or physical restraint, including a description of the procedures and types of restraint used, any actions taken in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, and the student's behavior that suggest the student posed an imminent risk of harm to self or others.
    
    

  • A description of any student injuries, visible marks, or medical emergencies that occurred during or after the seclusion or physical restraint.
    
    

  • A description of the actions taken immediately following the student's release from seclusion or physical restraint, including actions to notify the student's parent or legal guardian.
    
    

  • A description of the student's actions immediately following the student's release from seclusion or restraint

   

• A school principal or his designee and the director or supervisor of special education shall review video and audio footage, if available, to ensure policies and proper techniques were followed during the incident.
  
  

• If a student is involved in three incidents in a school year involving the use of seclusion or physical restraint as a result of posing an imminent risk of harm to self or others, the special education teacher shall send prior written notice of the intention to call an Individualized Education Program team meeting to the student's parent or legal guardian, and at such meeting, his Individualized Education Program team shall review and revise the student's Behavioral Intervention Plan, including any crisis intervention plans, to include any appropriate and necessary behavioral supports.  Thereafter, if the student's challenging behavior continues or escalates, requiring repeated use of seclusion or physical restraint, the director or supervisor of special education or his designee shall review the student's plans at least once every three weeks.
  
  

• Incidents will be reported in JCAMPUS and SER.

Guidelines and Procedures

The School Board shall require the Superintendent and staff to maintain adequate written guidelines and procedures governing the use of seclusion and physical restraint of students in accordance with federal and state law, as well as regulations and guidelines promulgated by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  The School Board shall approve written guidelines and procedures regarding appropriate responses to student behavior that may require immediate intervention using seclusion and/or restraint.  The written guidelines and procedures shall be provided to the state Department of Education, all school employees, and every parent or legal guardian of a student with an exceptionality and shall include:

• Proper use of crisis intervention plans, including the use of positive behavioral interventions and support, sensory rooms, seclusion, and physical restraint, and how these strategies differ.
  
  

• All seclusion and physical restraint safety, reporting, and notification requirements, including any follow-up procedures.
  
  

• An explanation of the methods of physical restraint and the school employee training requirements relative to the use of restraint.
  
  

• Reporting of seclusion and restraint incidents to the Louisiana Department of Education.

Employee Training Requirements

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for conducting or obtaining appropriate training programs for school personnel designed to address the use of seclusion and restraint techniques with students with disabilities.  In addition, positive behavioral intervention strategies, crisis intervention, and de-escalation, as well as other procedures, may also be included in any training.

Charter Schools

Notwithstanding any state law, rule, or regulation to the contrary and except as may be otherwise specifically provided for in an approved charter, a charter school established and operated in accordance with State law, including its approved charter and the school’s officers and employees, shall be subject to the School Board’s policy and written procedures and guidelines regarding the use of seclusion and restraint with students with exceptionalities.

Originally adopted:  August 25, 2016

Revised:  August 16, 2017

Revised:  February 20, 2025

Revised:  July 17, 2025

Ref:    20 USC 1400 et seq. (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

34 CFR 300 (Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities)

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:7, 17:416.21, 17:1941, 17:1942, 17:1943, 17:1944, 17:1945, 17:1946, 17:1947

Pupil Appraisal Handbook, Bulletin 1508

Regulations for the Implementation of the Exceptional Children's Act, Bulletin 1706, Louisiana Department of Education

Board minutes, 8-25-16, 8-16-17, 2-20-25, 7-17-25

Vermilion Parish School Board