1479-S2 AMH STEE WARG 070

2SHB 1479 - H AMD TO H AMD (H-1629.2/23) 380

By Representative Steele

WITHDRAWN 03/08/2023

On page 1, line 7 of the striking amendment, after "chemical restraint" strike ", mechanical restraint, and isolation" and insert "and mechanical restraint"

On page 1, line 8 of the striking amendment, after "use of" insert "isolation and"

On page 2, line 1 of the striking amendment, after "(c)" strike "Until August 1, 2025, the" and insert "The"

On page 2, beginning on line 22 of the striking amendment, strike all of subsection (3)

Renumber the remaining subsections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

On page 10, line 18 of the striking amendment, strike all of subsection (iii)

Renumber the remaining subsections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

On page 11, after line 22 of the striking amendment, insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Purpose. The purposes of this section are to: Protect students from physically harmful and emotionally traumatic practices of chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, and isolation; prohibit use of physical restraint imposed solely for purposes of student discipline or staff convenience; improve the safety and well-being of all staff and students by increasing the professional development and technical assistance provided to staff; and enhance the public accountability of school districts and other providers of public educational services.

(2) Prohibited and limited isolation and restraint of students.

(a) The staff of any school district or other provider of public educational services may not subject any student to prohibited isolation or restraint during the provision of educational services.

(b) The staff of any school district or other provider of public educational services may use physical restraint during the provision of educational services only when:

(i) A student's behavior poses an imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or to others;

(ii) Less restrictive interventions would be ineffective in stopping the imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or to others;

(iii) The least amount of force necessary is used to protect the student or another person from imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or to others; and

(iv) The physical restraint of the student ends immediately upon the cessation of the imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or to others.

(c) Neither a student nor the student's parent or legal guardian may consent, or be asked to consent, to the use of isolation or restraint that is prohibited under this subsection (2).

(d) Nothing in this subsection (2) prohibits a school resource officer as defined in RCW 28A.320.124 from carrying out the lawful duties of a commissioned law enforcement officer.

(3) Isolation rooms.

(a) School districts and other providers of public educational services are prohibited from having isolation rooms or other settings for the purpose of isolating a student.

(b) The provisions of this subsection (3) do not apply to a state-operated psychiatric hospital that serves students.

(4) Notifications. After each incident of isolation or restraint, whether prohibited or limited, the following notifications must be made:

(a) Immediately following the release of the student from isolation or restraint, the staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation or restraint shall notify the principal, other building administrator, or designee, of the provider of public educational services about the incident;

(b) The principal, other building administrator, or designee of the provider of public educational services shall:

(i) Notify the student's parent or legal guardian about the incident, within 24 hours of the incident; and

(ii) Send written documentation to the parent or legal guardian, within three business days of the incident; and

(c) With regard to use of prohibited isolation or restraint, the principal, other building administrator, or designee, of the provider of public educational services shall notify the following people or entities about the incident in accordance with the applicable deadlines:

(i) The school district superintendent or other chief administrator of the provider of public educational services, within one business day of the incident;

(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, within three business days of the incident; and

(iii) If the school district or other provider of public educational services is a contractor, the contractee, within three business days of the incident.

(5) Incident reviews. After every incident of isolation or restraint, whether prohibited or limited, the following incident reviews must be completed.

(a) As soon as practicable, but no later than one week following submission of the incident report as required under subsection (6)(a) of this section, the principal, other building administrator, or designee, of the provider of public educational services shall review the incident with the student and the student's parent or legal guardian to discuss relevant events that occurred before, during, and after the incident, and to inform the student's parent or legal guardian about behavioral intervention planning that must be completed under subsection (7) of this section.

(b) As soon as practicable following the release of a student from isolation or restraint, staff must provide the student with an opportunity to meet with a counselor, nurse, psychologist, or social worker to reflect, process, and recover.

(c) As soon as practicable following the release of a student from isolation or restraint, a team of staff, including the staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation or restraint, shall review the incident to, among other things:

(i) Provide the staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation or restraint with an opportunity to reflect, process, and recover;

(ii) Determine whether proper procedures were followed; and

(iii) Identify additional training, coaching, or assistance that may support staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation or restraint to use less restrictive interventions in similar situations in the future.

(6) Incident reports. The following reports related to incidents of isolation and restraint, whether prohibited or limited, and incidents of room clears must be prepared and submitted.

(a) Within two business days of the incident, staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation, restraint, or a room clear shall prepare and submit a written report of the incident to the school district superintendent or other chief administrator of the provider of public educational services. At a minimum, the written report must include:

(i) The date, time, duration, and location of the incident;

(ii) Names and job titles of staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation, restraint, or a room clear and of staff who observed the incident;

(iii) The type of restraint or isolation used, if applicable;

(iv) A description of relevant events that occurred before, during, and after the incident, including any less restrictive interventions attempted;

(v) Information about any known physical injuries or psychological trauma experienced by the student or staff due to the incident, including whether medical care was sought or received, and whether staff requested or used leave benefits;

(vi) Recommended preventative actions for the staff or the provider of public educational services to take to prevent similar, future incidents; and

(vii) Other information as required by rule of the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(b) The school district superintendent or other chief administrator of a provider of public educational services shall prepare a summary of the incident reports submitted under (a) of this subsection (6), at least annually and as required by the school district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational services. The summary must be disaggregated for purposes of trend analyses, for example by the student categories and subcategories provided under RCW 28A.300.042 (1) and (3), student gender, students who are dependent pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW, students who are homeless as defined in RCW 43.330.702, students who are multilingual/English learners, status as a student with a parent who is a member of the armed forces, by school or other applicable unit, by staff job title, by contractor, and by incident type.

(c) The school district superintendent or other chief administrator of a provider of public educational services must submit incident report data and summaries prepared under (a) and (b) of this subsection (6), at the time and in the manner required by the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(7) Behavioral intervention plan. After every incident of isolation or restraint, whether prohibited or limited, the following activities related to behavioral intervention planning must be completed.

(a) As soon as practicable following the release of a student from isolation or restraint, staff shall:

(i) Complete a functional behavioral assessment of the student, unless a functional behavioral assessment was previously completed for the behavior of concern; and

(ii) Develop a behavioral intervention plan for the student or, if a behavioral intervention plan has already been developed, review the behavioral intervention plan and modify it as necessary to address the student's behavior of concern.

(b) Nothing in this subsection (7) limits behavioral intervention planning for students with individualized education programs under Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.

(8) Policies and procedures.

(a) The school district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational services shall adopt a student isolation and restraint policy and procedures that meets the requirements of this section. The procedures must include a process for convening a team of staff to review every incident of isolation or restraint using a systems improvement approach that focuses on supporting staff to use less restrictive interventions as alternatives to isolation and restraint.

(b) During the 2024-25 school year, and periodically thereafter, the school district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational services shall review and revise, as necessary, its student isolation and restraint policy and procedures with input from staff, students, students' families, advocacy organizations, and other appropriate members of the community.

(9) Professional development plans.

(a)(i) By January 30, 2024, the school district superintendent or other chief administrator of a provider of public educational services, or the school district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational services, shall prepare and submit to the office of the superintendent of public instruction a staff professional development plan and timeline as required by this subsection (9).

(ii) By August 31, 2024, and by August 31st annually thereafter, an update on the implementation of its staff professional development plan must be submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(b)(i) The plan must include professional development on the following topics:

(A) The policy and procedure adopted under subsection (8) of this section;

(B) Evidence-based, trauma-informed, student-centered, proactive crisis prevention and intervention practices that are less restrictive than isolation and restraint, such as de-escalation strategies;

(C) Evidence-based, trauma-informed, behavioral health supports for students and staff that include restorative practices; and

(D) Evidence-based, systemic approaches to eliminating the use of prohibited isolation and restraint, to reduce the use of physical restraint, and to eliminate disparities in use of prohibited and limited isolation and restraint, such as multitiered systems of support and universal design for learning.

(ii) The plan and any updates must describe the professional development that will be provided to staff during the following school year. Any professional development programs and resources provided to staff must be selected from the list developed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction as required by section 3(4) of this act.

(iii) Example modes of professional development include: Trainings provided by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, educational service districts, the school district or other provider of public educational services; pursuit of credentials through formal education programs; working with a mentor or coach; and involvement in professional learning communities. Nothing in this subsection (9) requires all staff to be provided identical or equivalent professional development. Rather, professional development content, intensity, duration, and frequency must be appropriate to each staff type, staff experience, and staff assignment, and must be informed by the incident reviews completed under subsection (5) of this section.

(iv) To the extent the use of the funds is not specified in RCW 28A.415.445 or the omnibus operating appropriations act, school districts and other providers of public educational services that receive funding for professional learning days under RCW 28A.150.415 may use this funding to meet the requirements of this subsection (9).

(c) Professional development must be prioritized to staff in the following order:

(i) First to staff providing educational services to students with disabilities in prekindergarten through grade five;

(ii) Second to staff providing educational services to students with disabilities in grades six through 12; and

(iii) Third to all other staff.

(d) The plan must describe the mechanism used to determine whether an entity under contract to provide educational services to students is providing professional development to the contractor's staff as required by this subsection (9).

(10) Duties of governing bodies.

(a) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, and every four years thereafter, each member of a school district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational services shall complete the training program on student isolation and restraint provided at no cost as required under section 3(6) of this act.

(b) On an annual basis, the school district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational services shall monitor the impact of the policy and procedures adopted under subsection (8) of this section by, at a minimum: (i) Performing trend analyses using the summary of incident reports prepared by the school district superintendent or other chief administrator of the provider of public educational services under subsection (6) of this section; and (ii) reviewing the professional development plan and updates prepared under subsection (9) of this section.

(11) Rules. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW for the implementation of this section.

(12) Definitions. The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Behavioral intervention plan" means the individualized plan developed for a student and implemented by staff for the purpose of changing, replacing, modifying, or eliminating a student's behavior or behaviors of concern.

(b) "Chemical restraint" means a drug or chemical administered by staff to a student to control the student's behavior or restrict the student's freedom of movement that is: (i) Not prescribed by a licensed health professional acting within the scope of the practice of that health profession for the standard treatment of a student's medical or psychiatric condition; (ii) not administered by a licensed health professional acting within the scope of the practice of that health profession; or (iii) not administered in accordance with the student's medical or psychiatric treatment plan.

(c) "Educational service" means instruction and other activities delivered or sponsored by a school district or other provider of public educational services, for example: General education services; special education services; medical services; safety and security services; transportation services; and any developmental, corrective, or other supportive services necessary for a student eligible for special education services to benefit from special education services.

(d) "Functional behavioral assessment" means the process or evaluation used by staff to understand the cause or purpose of a student's specific behavior or behaviors of concern in a specific environment.

(e) "Imminent" means the state or condition of being likely to occur at any moment or near at hand, rather than distant or remote.

(f) "Isolation," also known as seclusion, means the involuntary isolation of a student, by staff, in an isolation room from which the student is not free to leave. "Isolation" does not include a time away, which is a student-selected behavior management technique that provides a student with an opportunity for self-calming, where the student is separated from others for a limited period, in a setting that is staff-monitored and from which the student may leave at any time.

(g) "Isolation room" means a room or other enclosed area, whether within or outside a classroom, used to isolate a student.

(h) "Likelihood of serious harm" means a substantial risk that:

(i) Harm will be inflicted by the student upon his or her own person, as evidenced by threats or attempts to commit suicide, or inflict harm on oneself; or

(ii) Harm will be inflicted by the student upon another, as evidenced by behavior that places another person or persons in reasonable fear of sustaining such harm.

(i) "Mechanical restraint" means staff use of a device to restrict a student's freedom of movement. "Mechanical restraint" does not include: (i) A device used by staff or a student: (A) As prescribed by a licensed health professional acting within the scope of the practice of that health profession; (B) as documented in a student's individualized education program under Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. or a student's plan developed under section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973; or (C) for a specific therapeutic, orthopedic, or medical purpose, when used for its designed purpose; or (ii) the use of vehicle safety restraints when used as intended during the transport of a student in a moving vehicle.

(j) "Physical escort" means the temporary touching or holding of a student's hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back by staff, without the use of force, for the purpose of directing the student to a safe or otherwise appropriate location.

(k) "Physical prompt" means a teaching technique used by staff that involves voluntary physical contact with a student for the purpose of enabling the student to learn or model the physical movement necessary for the development of a desired competency.

(l) "Physical restraint" means physical contact by one or more staff that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move the student's arms, legs, torso, or head freely. "Physical restraint" does not include chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, physical escort, or physical prompt.

(m) "Prohibited isolation or restraint" means staff use of one or more of the following interventions on a student:

(i) Chemical restraint;

(ii) Mechanical restraint;

(iii) Isolation;

(iv) Physical restraint or physical escort that is life-threatening, restricts breathing, or restricts blood flow to the brain, including prone, supine, and wall restraints;

(v) Isolation or physical restraint that is contraindicated based on the student's disability or health care needs or medical or psychiatric condition as documented in:

(A) A health care directive or medical management plan;

(B) A behavioral intervention plan;

(C) An individualized education program under Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.; or

(D) A plan developed under section 504 of the federal rehabilitation act of 1973;

(vi) Corporal punishment as prohibited by RCW 28A.150.300; and

(vii) Noxious spray and other aversive intervention as prohibited in rule of the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(n) "Provider of public educational services" means any entity that directly operates, or provides educational services under contract to, an elementary or secondary school program that receives public funds from the office of the superintendent of public instruction. "Provider of public educational services" includes a school district, public school as defined in RCW 28A.150.010, an educational service district, an institutional education provider as defined in RCW 28A.190.005, a public agency or private entity providing educational services under contract with any other provider of public educational services, and any providers of services in accordance with Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. In addition, "provider of public educational services" includes the state school for the blind and the center for deaf and hard of hearing youth established under RCW 72.40.010.

(o) "Restraint" includes chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, and physical restraint.

(p) "Room clear" means the procedure used by staff in an emergency to direct all students, except for any students causing the emergency, to leave a room. Except as provided in rule of the office of the superintendent of public instruction, a room clear is not isolation.

(q) "Staff" means an employee or contractor of a school district or other provider of public educational services. "Staff" does not include licensed or certified health professionals of inpatient health care facilities.

(r) "Students" means children and youth served by a school district or other provider of public educational services."

Renumber the remaining sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

On page 12, beginning on line 19 of the striking amendment, after "(A)" strike all material through "staff" on line 21 and insert "Staff"

On page 12, line 23 of the striking amendment, after "five; and" strike "(C)" and insert "(B)"

On page 13, beginning on line 32 of the striking amendment, strike all of subsection (7)

Renumber the remaining subsections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

On page 17, after line 36 of the striking amendment, insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The effective date of section 2 of this act is the day after the date that the office of the superintendent of public instruction certifies that each school district and provider of public educational services has provided professional development as required under section 1 of this act to a substantial portion of staff. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide written notice of the effective date of section 2 of this act to affected parties, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of the code reviser, and others as deemed appropriate by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The expiration date of section 1 of this act is the date that the office of the superintendent of public instruction certifies that each school district and provider of public educational services has provided professional development as required under section 1 of this act to a substantial portion of staff. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide written notice of the expiration date of section 1 of this act to affected parties, the chief clerk of the house of representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of the code reviser, and others as deemed appropriate by the department."

Renumber the remaining sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.

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