SLPS SCHOOL SAFETY AND DISCIPLINE POLICY

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE

TRANSITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS

EMPLOYMENT POLICY

School Violence and Restrictive Behavioral Intervention Policy

Policy # 5144.1

PURPOSE

Through the adoption of this policy, the Special Administrative Board expects to:

1. Promote safety and prevent harm to students, school personnel and visitors in the School District.

2. Foster a climate of dignity and respect in the use of discipline and behavior-management techniques

3. Provide school personnel with clear guidelines about the use of seclusion, isolation, and restraint in response to emergency situations.

4. Promote the use of non-aversive, behavioral interventions.

The SLPS District has the authority [1] to manage student conduct by promoting good order and implementing disciplinary practices in a manner which is consistent with state law. School officials are authorized to hold students accountable for misconduct in school, on school property, during school-sponsored activities and for conduct away from school or in nonschool activities which affect school discipline.

Students may forfeit their right to a public school education by engaging in conduct prohibited in the SLPS Student Code of Conduct Handbook and related provisions. Disciplinary consequences include, but are not limited to, withdrawal of school privileges (athletics, intramurals, student clubs and activities and school social events); the assignment of the student to another school; removal for up to ten (10) school days by school principals; extension of suspensions for a total of 180 days by the Superintendent/Designee; and longer term suspension and /or expulsion from school by the Board of Education.

DEFINITIONS

Aversive Behavioral Interventions: An intervention that is intended to inflict pain or discomfort upon a student for the purpose of eliminating or reducing dangerous behaviors.

Chemical Restraint: The administration of a drug or medication to manage a student’s behavior that is NOT a standard treatment and dosage for the student’s medical condition.

Corporal Punishment: As relates to this policy, Corporal Punishment is the use of or threat of physical force for the purposes of discipline or punishment. Furthermore, the use of physical restraint by trained staff shall not be considered as Corporal Punishment.

Isolation: The confinement of a student alone in an enclosed space without locking hardware. Isolation does not include supervised in-school suspension, detention or time-out used as a disciplinary consequence in accordance to the District’s student discipline code.

Mechanical Restraint: The use of any device or material attached to or adjacent to a student’s body that restricts normal freedom and movement and which cannot be easily removed by a student. Mechanical restraint does NOT include: (1) an adaptive or protective device recommended by a physician or therapist (when it is used as recommended); (2) safety equipment used by the general student population as intended (e.g. seat belts, safety harnesses on student transportation).

Physical Escort: The temporary touching or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or back for the purpose of inducing a student who is acting out or eloping to walk to a safe location.

Physical Restraint: The use of person to person physical contact to restrict the free movement of all or a portion of a student’s body. It does not include briefly holding a student without undue force for instructional or other purposes, briefly holding a student to calm the student, taking a student’s hand to transport him or her for safety purposes, physical escort, or intervening in a fight.

Seclusion: The confinement of a student alone in an enclosed space from which the student is physically prevented from leaving by locking hardware.

Time-Out: Brief removal from sources of positive reinforcement that does not meet the definition of seclusion or isolation. The purpose of time-out is to separate the student from the attention of staff or other students.

A. SLPS BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY – CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

SLPS District employees and volunteers are prohibited from administering corporal punishment to students attending the SLPS schools, and from causing such punishment to be administered.

B. SLPS BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY – PHYSICAL RESTRAINT

Physical restraint will be used only when other means of preventing or stopping a breach of discipline have proved ineffective. Trained staff may use justifiable physical restraint on a student only when it is deemed reasonably necessary to[2]:

1. Prevent the student from hurting himself/herself.

2. Protect others.

3. Protect the staff’s well-being.

Physical Restraint will:

1. Only be used for as long as necessary to resolve the actual risk of danger or harm that warranted the use of physical restraint.

2. Be no greater than the degree of force necessary.

3. Not place pressure or weight on the chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back neck or throat that restricts breathing or circulation.

4. Not hyperextend any body part, put or keep the student off balance.

5. Be conducted with at least one other additional adult present and in line of sight, unless other school personnel are not immediately available due to the unforeseeable nature of the emergency situation.

Physical restraint which is administered in accordance with this section shall not be deemed corporal punishment as defined in Section A. above.

In the above cases physical restraint is justified when it is an alternative to a greater harm. When necessary, it should be applied without anger and as a restraint rather than as retaliation.

Trained staff members are permitted to use only the minimum amount of restraint reasonably necessary to accomplish the preventive measures required.

C. USE OF SECLUSION AND ISOLATION

Seclusion: The St. Louis Public Schools does not practice seclusion as defined in this policy to modify student behavior.

Isolation: Isolation shall only be used:

In an emergency situation in which a student’s behavior poses a serious, probable threat of imminent physical harm to self or others, or
When less restrictive measures have not de-escalated the situation.

Isolation shall never be used as a form of punishment or for the convenience of District personnel.

A student in isolation must be monitored by District personnel who are in close proximity and able to see and hear the student at all times. The total time in isolation is to be reasonable, calculated based on the age of the student and the circumstances and is not to exceed 10 minutes without a reassessment of the situation and consultation with administrative staff, unless otherwise specified in the IEP, Section 504 plan or other plan to address a student’s behavior.

The space in which the student is isolated should be a reasonably sized meeting room commonly found in the school setting with lighting, ventilation, heating, cooling and ceiling height and that is free of objects that could cause harm to the student.

D. MECHANICAL RESTRAINT

The St. Louis Public School District does not practice the use of mechanical restraints as defined in this policy to modify student behavior.

The use of vehicle safety restraints shall be used according to state and federal regulations.

Mechanical restraints employed by law enforcement officers in school settings should be used in accordance with appropriate professional standards and applicable policies.

E. CHEMICAL RESTRAINT

The St. Louis Public School District does not practice the use of chemical restraints as defined in this policy to modify student behavior.

F. USE OF TIME-OUT

Nothing in this policy is intended to prohibit the use of time-out as defined in this policy.

G. REPORTING/DEBRIEFING

If a staff member uses isolation or physical restraint on a student, the following must be done:

Report the incident to the Building Administrator immediately.
Prepare a written comprehensive report detailing the reason for using physical restraint, the type and manner of physical restraint, the amount of force used in the physical restraint.
The comprehensive report must be prepared within 24 hours.
The comprehensive report shall be forwarded to Building Administrator, Office of the Superintendent, Director of School Safety and Security.
The Building Administrator shall follow all regular District reporting procedures for external agencies as required by District Policies.
The Building Administrator shall conduct a debriefing for any incident that results in an injury.

H. TRAINING

The District will provide annual training to all staff concerning the District’s use of seclusion, isolation and restraint. Annual training will also include, but will not be limited to, approved methods of dealing with school violence, discipline of students with disabilities, and the requirements of student confidentiality.

In addition to the training to District staff, those who utilize isolation or restraint will also receive annual training in:

The appropriate use of physical restraint.
Professionally accepted practices in the use of restraint and isolation.
The appropriate use of isolation.

Adopted: January 22, 1991

Revised: December 7, 1999

Revised: July 29, 2010

Revised: June 26, 2012