Definitions of Terms Used in the Keeping All Students Safe Act
H.R. 1381, the Keeping All Students Safe Act (formerly the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in the Schools Act) will establish minimum safety standards in schools, similar to federal protections already in place in hospitals and other community-based facilities. The bill uses definitions from existing law and creates new definitions relevant to schools:
| TERM | SUMMARY OF DEFINITIONS |
|---|---|
| School | Public or private early childhood, elementary and secondary schools and school programs that receive support in any form from federal education funds. Head Start programs will also be included. |
| Student | A child enrolled in a school as defined in the bill and, in the case of a child enrolled in a private school or private program, who receives support from federal education funds. Includes both students with and without disabilities. |
| Mechanical Restraint | (from Public Health Service Act) The use of devices as a means of restricting a student’s freedom of movement. |
| Chemical Restraint | A drug or medication used on a student to control behavior or restrict freedom of movement that is not prescribed by a licensed physician for standard treatment of the student’s medical or psychiatric condition and administered for that purpose as prescribed. |
| Physical Restraint | (from Public Health Service Act) A personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of an individual to move his or her arms, legs, or head freely. |
| Physical Escort | (from Public Health Service Act) The temporary touching or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or back for the purpose of inducing a student who is acting out to walk to a safe location. |
| Seclusion | (from Public Health Service Act) A behavior control technique involving locked isolation, not including a time out. |
| Time Out | (from Public Health Service Act) A behavior management technique that is part of an approved treatment program and may involve the separation of the student from the group, in a non-locked setting, for the purpose of calming. Time out is not seclusion. |
| School Personnel | (from Elementary and Secondary Education Act) Includes teachers, principals, administrators, counselors, social workers, school resource officers, psychologists, nurses, librarians, and other support staff who are employed by a school or who perform services for the school on a contractual basis. |
Physical restraint or seclusion will only be allowed when all the following conditions are met:
- There is imminent danger of physical injury;
- Less invasive interventions wouldn’t work to protect the student or others from injury;
- No mechanical devices are used;
- Staff are trained by a state-approved training program; and
- Staff members are monitoring the student closely.
Physical restraint or seclusion are prohibited when used:
- For discipline or convenience;
- As a therapeutic intervention;
- For any period of time that extends past the threat of imminent danger; and
- By untrained staff, with rare exceptions for unavoidable circumstances, when no trained staff are available and the threat of imminent danger exists.