On October 11, 2024 (form signed October 10, 2024) the Department of Public Instruction (department) received a complaint under state and federal special education law from #### (complainant) against the #### (district). This is the department’s decision regarding that complaint. The issue identified is whether the district, beginning October 11, 2023, improperly utilized seclusion or physical restraint with a student with a disability.
Wisconsin law prohibits the use of seclusion or physical restraint with students at school unless a student's behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or others and is the least restrictive intervention feasible. Wis. Stat. § 118.305(3). Seclusion means the involuntary confinement of a student, apart from other students, in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. Physical restraint means a restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to freely move the torso, arms, legs, or head. If physical restraint is used, the degree of force and the duration of the physical restraint may not exceed the degree and duration that are reasonable and necessary to resolve the clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or others. Wisconsin state law defines an incident as “an occurrence of a covered individual or a law enforcement officer using seclusion or physical restraint on a pupil. It is considered one incident if immediately following the use of seclusion or physical restraint on a pupil, the pupil’s behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the pupil or others, and a covered individual or law enforcement officer resumes the use of seclusion or physical restraint.” Wis. Stat. § 118.305(1)(dm).
Whenever a covered individual, such as a school employee, or a law enforcement officer uses seclusion or physical restraint on a student at school, the school principal or designee must notify the student’s parent of the incident as soon as practicable, but no later than one business day after the incident. Wis. Stat. § 118.305(4)(a). The principal must meet with the school staff who participated in the incident to discuss the events preceding, during, and following the use of seclusion or physical restraint. The discussion must include how to prevent the need for seclusion or physical restraint, including the factors that may have contributed to the escalation of behaviors, alternatives to physical restraint, such as de-escalation techniques and interventions, and other strategies that the principal determines are appropriate. Within two business days, the principal must complete a written report of the incident including the student’s name, the date, time, and duration of the use of physical restraint or seclusion, a description of the incident including a description of the actions of the student before, during and after the incident, and the names and titles of the school staff and any law enforcement officers present at the time of the incident. The principal must send, or hand deliver the written report to the student’s parent within three business days of the incident. Wis. Stat. § 118.305(4)(b). The second time that seclusion or physical restraint is used on a student with a disability within the same school year, the student's individualized education program (IEP) team must meet as soon as practicable after the incident, but no later than 10 school days after the incident. Wis. Stat. § 118.305(5).
The student who is the subject of this complaint attended a summer program at a district elementary school. On June 25, 2024, the student’s grandfather observed a teacher carrying the student out of the building at the end of the morning summer school session. The student’s parent emailed the district for more information about what happened. Staff responded by stating that the student was carried because the student “would just lay on the ground and refuse to move.” When it was time to leave the classroom, the student did not want to go and eventually ran in the opposite direction and tried to go out the wrong exit. The paraprofessional stopped the student. The student “laid on the ground.” The teacher helped “get [the student] to the front door.”
The parent requested to view video footage of the hallways to understand what happened. The school principal called the parent the next day and explained that physical restraint had occurred. That afternoon, the principal sent the parent a seclusion and restraint incident form to the parent via email. The report stated that physical restraint occurred from 10:01:41 a.m. to 10:04 a.m. The report described that prior to the incident, the student was dysregulated and refused to follow verbal directions to walk towards the correct door. The paraprofessional “continued to encourage [the student] to walk toward the exit by supporting [the student] to standing position and disengaged” when the student dropped down to the floor. The report identified unsafe behavior when the student attempted to elope out of the incorrect door. The student did not respond to the offers to take the teacher’s hand or the paraprofessional’s hand. The teacher “made the decision to pick [the student] up and walk down the hallway while carrying” and identified an imminent risk in the student’s attempt to leave the building. The report described attempted interventions as “supportive stance, proximity, verbal prompting, choice, humor, and redirection.” The report identified the staff involved in the incident and a debriefing meeting occurred on June 26, 2024. While both staff involved had physical restraint training and current certification, the report identified follow-up that included reviewing procedures and policies with staff and offering additional training as necessary based on staff understanding of concepts and previous training levels.
On June 26, 2024, the district’s special education director and other staff reviewed the video footage and interviewed staff members involved in the incident. The next morning, the director emailed the teacher that carried the student. The email informed the teacher that the district “determined the method and circumstances under which restraint was used were not in alignment with our policies and procedures.” The email summarizes the director’s discussion with the teacher regarding the requirements in Wisconsin state law regarding the use of seclusion and restraint with students and the need to follow guidelines, including 1) that restraint should only be used when a student’s behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or others and should be discontinued as soon as the imminent danger has subsided; 2) carrying a child constitutes a restraint in immobilizing or reducing the ability of the child to freely move the torso, arms, legs, or head; 3) when restraint is warranted and is the least restrictive intervention available, only approved holding techniques are allowed. The email stated that the teacher’s actions did not comply with these requirements, ending with a reminder to adhere to district policies, use de-escalation techniques, and to accurately document and report any use of restraint or seclusion immediately following the incident.
On July 15, 2024, the parent watched video footage of the incident. In the complaint, the parent identified areas of the restraint report that did not match the parent’s observations, including the first teacher picking the student up off of the floor about five times. The parent also stated that the student was not attempting to leave the building when staff used physical restraint. The department reviewed the video footage and has determined that both the teacher and paraprofessional physically restrained the student. At no time was restraint the least restrictive intervention necessary to resolve a clear, present, and imminent risk to the student’s physical safety. The student veered towards the wrong exit door one time, and the paraprofessional appropriately redirected the student to a hallway. The student attempted to elope one time, and other staff near the exit redirected the student. Each time restraint was used, the student was lying on the ground. The teacher picked up the student despite the other staff still in position near the exit to prevent elopement. The teacher carried the student from behind, holding the student by the torso, across the building to the designated exit. These occurrences were close in time, meeting the definition of one incident under Wisconsin state law. One report was appropriate. As this was the first and only incident for the student, no IEP team meeting was required.
District staff improperly utilized physical restraint with the student. While the district’s report met procedural requirements, it did not accurately reflect what occurred. Based on the district’s correspondence, the report’s inaccuracies were due to staff statements in the debriefing meeting. After district administration reviewed the video footage, the district responded appropriately to address noncompliance. The paraprofessional is no longer employed by the district. Following the incident, the teacher received additional training and physical restraint recertification in August. The district offered to pay for the parent to receive the same training that the district has provided to 80 of its staff members. The district scheduled an expert to provide professional development in December to support neurodiverse students through evidence-based improvement strategies to special education staff, paraprofessionals, and administrators. No further corrective action is required.
This concludes our review of this complaint. This decision is final for the IDEA State Complaint process. These issues may be addressed through other dispute resolutions, including mediation and due process hearings. For more information, visit the department’s website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/dispute-resolution or contact the special education team at (608) 266-1781.
For questions about this information, contact dpispeddata@dpi.wi.gov (608) 266-1781