SB 468

This bill regulates the use of aversive interventions in schools. The bill defines

"school" as a school operated by a school district, a charter school, a private school

in which a child with a disability is enrolled following the placement or referral of

that child to the private school by a local educational agency, a private school

participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, and a school operated by

a county children with disabilities education board. The bill defines "aversive

intervention" as deliberate action, including physical restraint, seclusion, and

timeout, taken by a school employee to establish a negative association between

certain behaviors and the deliberate action. "Physical restraint" is defined in the bill

as a restriction imposed by a person that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a pupil

to freely move his or her arms, legs, or head. "Timeout" is defined in the bill as a

behavioral management technique administered by a school employee that involves

the separation of a pupil from his or her class and the placement of the pupil in a

timeout room. The bill defines "timeout room" as an enclosed setting or isolated area

from which a pupil is capable of leaving. In contrast, "seclusion" is defined in the bill

as the placement of a pupil in a setting from which the pupil is incapable of leaving.

The bill requires each school to designate an employee to serve as a

school-based resource person to assist other school employees with the

implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports and to

appropriately administer physical restraints and timeout. The bill defines "positive

behavioral interventions and supports" as a set of evidence-based practices used to

organize teaching and learning environments and experiences for a pupil which

facilitate the pupil's successful self-awareness, self-management, and engagement

with others and with the learning process. The bill requires the Department of

Public Instruction (department) to establish a training and certification program to

be completed before a person may be designated as the school-based resource person.

The bill also requires the department to establish a training program to provide

instruction to school employees on the safe, effective, and appropriate use of physical

restraint and timeout. The bill defines a "school employee" to include a person who

is under a contract with a school. No school employee may use physical restraint or

a timeout on a pupil unless the employee has completed the training and obtained

certification under the program.

The bill prohibits a school employee from using seclusion on a pupil, using any

physical restraint that poses certain identified risks to a pupil, or using any

mechanical restraint on a pupil. The bill defines "mechanical restraint" as a device

that restricts a pupil's freedom of movement or normal access to a portion of his or

her body and that the pupil cannot easily remove. "Mechanical restraint" does not,

however, include a protective or stabilizing device that is prescribed by a health care

professional for a child with a disability. The bill also prohibits a school employee

from intentionally releasing noxious, toxic, caustic, or otherwise unpleasant