Using Restraints

In this article 3 California school employees to be charged with manslaughter in death of special needs student,  the school staff retrained a student with autism face down and he stopped breathing.

First, I need to make sure that using restraints on a student is legal. Does the state allow it? Does my school district allow it? If it is allowed, I won’t restrain a student unless I’m trained properly. No one else should do this either.

When my student becomes violent enough to need restraint, I need to look at placement. Is this the right placement for my students? Is this the least restrictive environment as required by federal law?

I can understand if they are a small child and need to be restrained if they are hurting themselves or others. But before you restrain a child, there needs to be intense training on the proper way to do this. If the student is as big as the adult, it is time to call in professionals such as law enforcement to handle the situation. They are properly trained to restrain people if needed.

Whenever a person puts hands on another person, it could be construed as a battery on a person which is against the law. Before I would ever put my hands on a student, I would make sure it is the proper plan of action. Otherwise, I could end up like the three people in the article.

Restraint should be an act of last resort and only by properly trained personnel.

Does your school allow restraint on a student? Does it offer training? Please share.

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash