IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4247 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MARCH 4, 2010 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions 
AN ACT 
To prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint and 
seclusion in schools, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping All Students 
Safe Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Physical restraint and seclusion have re-
sulted in physical injury, psychological trauma, and 
death to children in public and private schools. Na-
tional research shows students have been subjected 
to physical restraint and seclusion in schools as a 
means of discipline, to force compliance, or as a sub-
stitute for appropriate educational support. 
(2) Behavioral interventions for children must 
promote the right of all children to be treated with 
dignity. All children have the right to be free from 
physical or mental abuse, aversive behavioral inter-
ventions that compromise health and safety, and any 
physical restraint or seclusion imposed solely for 
purposes of discipline or convenience. 
(3) Safe, effective, evidence-based strategies are 
available to support children who display challenging 
behaviors in school settings. Staff training focused 
on the dangers of physical restraint and seclusion as 
well as training in evidence-based positive behavior 
supports, de-escalation techniques, and physical re-
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straint and seclusion prevention, can reduce the inci-
dence of injury, trauma, and death. 
(4) School personnel have the right to work in 
a safe environment and should be provided training 
and support to prevent injury and trauma to them-
selves and others. 
(5) Despite the widely recognized risks of phys-
ical restraint and seclusion, a substantial disparity 
exists among many States and localities with regard 
to the protection and oversight of the rights of chil-
dren and school personnel to a safe learning environ-
ment. 
(6) Children are subjected to physical restraint 
and seclusion at higher rates than adults. Physical 
restraint which restricts breathing or causes other 
body trauma, as well as seclusion in the absence of 
continuous face-to-face monitoring, have resulted in 
the deaths of children in schools. 
(7) Children are protected from inappropriate 
physical restraint and seclusion in other settings, 
such as hospitals, health facilities, and non-medical 
community-based facilities. Similar protections are 
needed in schools, yet such protections must ac-
knowledge the differences of the school environment. 
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(8) Research confirms that physical restraint 
and seclusion are not therapeutic, nor are these 
practices effective means to calm or teach children, 
and may have an opposite effect while simulta-
neously decreasing a child’s ability to learn. 
(9) The effective implementation of school-wide 
positive behavior supports is linked to greater aca-
demic achievement, significantly fewer disciplinary 
problems, increased instruction time, and staff per-
ception of a safer teaching environment. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
(1) prevent and reduce the use of physical re-
straint and seclusion in schools; 
(2) ensure the safety of all students and school 
personnel in schools and promote a positive school 
culture and climate; 
(3) protect students from— 
(A) physical or mental abuse; 
(B) aversive behavioral interventions that 
compromise health and safety; and 
(C) any physical restraint or seclusion im-
posed solely for purposes of discipline or con-
venience; 
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(4) ensure that physical restraint and seclusion 
are imposed in school only when a student’s behavior 
poses an imminent danger of physical injury to the 
student, school personnel, or others; and 
(5) assist States, local educational agencies, 
and schools in— 
(A) establishing policies and procedures to 
keep all students, including students with the 
most complex and intensive behavioral needs, 
and school personnel safe; 
(B) providing school personnel with the 
necessary tools, training, and support to ensure 
the safety of all students and school personnel; 
(C) collecting and analyzing data on phys-
ical restraint and seclusion in schools; and 
(D) identifying and implementing effective 
evidence-based models to prevent and reduce 
physical restraint and seclusion in schools. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHEMICAL RESTRAINT.—The term ‘‘chem-
ical restraint’’ means a drug or medication used on 
a student to control behavior or restrict freedom of 
movement that is not— 
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(A) prescribed by a licensed physician, or 
other qualified health professional acting under 
the scope of the professional’s authority under 
State law, for the standard treatment of a stu-
dent’s medical or psychiatric condition; and 
(B) administered as prescribed by the li-
censed physician or other qualified health pro-
fessional acting under the scope of the profes-
sional’s authority under State law. 
(2) 
EDUCATIONAL
SERVICE
AGENCY.—The 
term ‘‘educational service agency’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 9101(17) of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801(17)). 
(3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 9101(18) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801(18)). 
(4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 9101(26) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801(26)). 
(5) MECHANICAL RESTRAINT.—The term ‘‘me-
chanical restraint’’ has the meaning given the term 
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in section 595(d)(1) of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 290jj(d)(1)), except that the mean-
ing shall be applied by substituting ‘‘student’s’’ for 
‘‘resident’s’’. 
(6) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 9101(31) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801(31)). 
(7) PHYSICAL ESCORT.—The term ‘‘physical es-
cort’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
595(d)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290jj(d)(2)), except that the meaning shall 
be applied by substituting ‘‘student’’ for ‘‘resident’’. 
(8) PHYSICAL RESTRAINT.—The term ‘‘physical 
restraint’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
595(d)(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 290jj(d)(3)). 
(9) POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS.—The term 
‘‘positive behavior supports’’ means a systematic ap-
proach to embed evidence-based practices and data- 
driven decisionmaking to improve school climate and 
culture, including a range of systemic and individ-
ualized strategies to reinforce desired behaviors and 
diminish reoccurrence of problem behaviors, in order 
to achieve improved academic and social outcomes 
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and increase learning for all students, including 
those with the most complex and intensive behav-
ioral needs. 
(10) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.— 
The term ‘‘protection and advocacy system’’ means 
a protection and advocacy system established under 
section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist-
ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
15043). 
(11) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means an 
entity— 
(A) that— 
(i) is a public or private— 
(I) day or residential elementary 
school or secondary school; or 
(II) early childhood, elementary 
school, or secondary school program 
that is under the jurisdiction of a 
school, local educational agency, edu-
cational service agency, or other edu-
cational institution or program; and 
(ii) receives, or serves students who 
receive, support in any form from any pro-
gram supported, in whole or in part, with 
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crisis intervention training program’’ means a train-
ing program approved by a State and the Secretary 
that, at a minimum, provides— 
(A) training in evidence-based techniques 
shown to be effective in the prevention of phys-
ical restraint and seclusion; 
(B) training in evidence-based techniques 
shown to be effective in keeping both school 
personnel and students safe when imposing 
physical restraint or seclusion; 
(C) evidence-based skills training related to 
positive behavior supports, safe physical escort, 
conflict prevention, understanding antecedents, 
de-escalation, and conflict management; 
(D) 
training 
in 
first 
aid 
and 
cardiopulmonary resuscitation; 
(E) information describing State policies 
and procedures that meet the minimum stand-
ards established by regulations promulgated 
pursuant to section 5(a); and 
(F) certification for school personnel in the 
techniques and skills described in subpara-
graphs (A) through (D), which shall be required 
to be renewed on a periodic basis. 
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(17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 9101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
(18) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 9101(41) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801(41)). 
(19) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means a 
student enrolled in a school defined in section 11, 
except that in the case of a private school or private 
program, such term means a student enrolled in 
such school or program who receives support in any 
form from any program supported, in whole or in 
part, with funds appropriated to the Department of 
Education. 
(20) TIME OUT.—The term ‘‘time out’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 595(d)(5) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290jj(d)(5)), 
except that the meaning shall be applied by sub-
stituting ‘‘student’’ for ‘‘resident’’. 
SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, in order to 
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protect each student from physical or mental abuse, aver-
sive behavioral interventions that compromise student 
health and safety, or any physical restraint or seclusion 
imposed solely for purposes of discipline or convenience 
or in a manner otherwise inconsistent with this Act, the 
Secretary shall promulgate regulations establishing the 
following minimum standards: 
(1) School personnel shall be prohibited from 
imposing on any student the following: 
(A) Mechanical restraints. 
(B) Chemical restraints. 
(C) Physical restraint or physical escort 
that restricts breathing. 
(D) Aversive behavioral interventions that 
compromise health and safety. 
(2) School personnel shall be prohibited from 
imposing physical restraint or seclusion on a student 
unless— 
(A) the student’s behavior poses an immi-
nent danger of physical injury to the student, 
school personnel, or others; 
(B) less restrictive interventions would be 
ineffective in stopping such imminent danger of 
physical injury; 
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(C) such physical restraint or seclusion is 
imposed by school personnel who— 
(i) continuously monitor the student 
face-to-face; or 
(ii) if school personnel safety is sig-
nificantly compromised by such face-to-face 
monitoring, are in continuous direct visual 
contact with the student; 
(D) such physical restraint or seclusion is 
imposed by— 
(i) school personnel trained and cer-
tified by a State-approved crisis interven-
tion training program (as defined in sec-
tion 4(16)); or 
(ii) other school personnel in the case 
of a rare and clearly unavoidable emer-
gency circumstance when school personnel 
trained and certified as described in clause 
(i) are not immediately available due to the 
unforeseeable nature of the emergency cir-
cumstance; and 
(E) such physical restraint or seclusion 
end immediately upon the cessation of the con-
ditions described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
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(3) States, in consultation with local edu-
cational agencies and private school officials, shall 
ensure that a sufficient number of personnel are 
trained and certified by a State-approved crisis 
intervention training program (as defined in section 
4(16)) to meet the needs of the specific student pop-
ulation in each school. 
(4) The use of physical restraint or seclusion as 
a planned intervention shall not be written into a 
student’s education plan, individual safety plan, be-
havioral plan, or individualized education program 
(as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401)). Local 
educational agencies or schools may establish poli-
cies and procedures for use of physical restraint or 
seclusion in school safety or crisis plans, provided 
that such school plans are not specific to any indi-
vidual student. 
(5) Schools shall establish procedures to be fol-
lowed after each incident involving the imposition of 
physical restraint or seclusion upon a student, in-
cluding— 
(A) procedures to provide to the parent of 
the student, with respect to each such inci-
dent— 
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(i) an immediate verbal or electronic 
communication on the same day as each 
such incident; and 
(ii) within 24 hours of each such inci-
dent, written notification; and 
(B) any other procedures the Secretary de-
termines appropriate. 
(b) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—The Secretary 
of the Interior shall ensure that schools operated or fund-
ed by the Department of the Interior comply with the reg-
ulations promulgated by the Secretary under subsection 
(a). 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to authorize the Secretary to pro-
mulgate regulations prohibiting the use of— 
(1) time out (as defined in section 4(20)); or 
(2) devices implemented by trained school per-
sonnel, or utilized by a student, for the specific and 
approved therapeutic or safety purposes for which 
such devices were designed and, if applicable, pre-
scribed, including— 
(A) restraints for medical immobilization; 
(B) adaptive devices or mechanical sup-
ports used to achieve proper body position, bal-
ance, or alignment to allow greater freedom of 
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