Virginia Administrative Code › Title 8 - EDUCATION › Agency 20 - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION › Chapter 750 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE USE OF SECLUSION AND RESTRAINT IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN VIRGINIA › Section 8VAC20-750-10 - Definitions related to permitted and prohibited actions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall
				  have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Aversive stimuli" means interventions that are intended to
				  induce pain or discomfort to a student for the purposes of punishing the
				  student or eliminating or reducing maladaptive behaviors, such as:
1. Noxious odors and tastes;
2. Water and other mists or sprays;
3. Blasts of air;
4. Corporal punishment as defined in §
									22.1-279.1
				  of the Code of Virginia;
5. Verbal and mental abuse;
6. Forced exercise when:
a. The student's behavior is related to the student's
				  disability;
b. The exercise would have a harmful effect on the student's
				  health; or
c. The student's disability prevents participation in such
				  activities.
7. Deprivation of necessities, including:
a. Food and liquid at a time it is customarily served;
b. Medication; or
c. Use of the restroom.
"Corporal punishment" means the infliction of, or causing the
				  infliction of, physical pain on a student as a means of discipline.
"Mechanical restraint" means the use of any material, device,
				  or equipment to restrict a student's freedom of movement. The term "mechanical
				  restraint" does not include the devices implemented by trained school personnel
				  or used by a student that have been prescribed by an appropriate medical or
				  related service professional and are used with parental consent and for the
				  specific and approved purposes for which such devices were designed, such
				  as:
1. Adaptive devices or mechanical supports used to achieve
				  proper body position, balance, or alignment to allow greater freedom of
				  mobility than would be possible without the use of such devices or mechanical
				  supports;
2. Vehicle restraints, including seat belts, when used as
				  intended during the transport of a student in a moving vehicle;
3. Restraints for medical immobilization;
4. Orthopedically prescribed devices that permit a student to
				  participate in activities without risk of harm; or
5. High chairs and feeding stations used for age or
				  developmentally appropriate students.
"Pharmacological restraint" means a drug or medication used
				  on a student to control behavior or restrict freedom of movement that is not
				  (i) prescribed by a licensed physician or other qualified health professional
				  under the scope of the professional's authority for the standard treatment of a
				  student's medical or psychiatric condition and (ii) administered as prescribed
				  by a licensed physician or other qualified health professional acting under the
				  scope of the professional's authority.
"Physical restraint" means a personal restriction that
				  immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move freely. The term
				  "physical restraint" does not include (i) briefly holding a student to calm or
				  comfort the student; (ii) holding a student's hand or arm to escort the student
				  safely from one area to another; or (iii) the use of incidental, minor, or
				  reasonable physical contact or other actions designed to maintain order and
				  control.
"Restraint" means mechanical restraint, physical restraint,
				  or pharmacological restraint.
"Seclusion" means the involuntary confinement of a student
				  alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from
				  leaving. Provided that no such room or space is locked, the term "seclusion"
				  does not include (i) time-out, as defined in this chapter; (ii) in-school
				  suspension; (iii) detention; (iv) student-requested breaks in a different
				  location in the room or in a separate room; (v) removal of a student for a
				  short period of time from the room or a separate area of the room to provide
				  the student with an opportunity to regain self-control, so long as the student
				  is in a setting from which the student is not physically prevented from
				  leaving; (vi) removal of a student for disruptive behavior from a classroom by
				  the teacher as provided in §
									22.1-276.2
				  of the Code of Virginia; or (vii) confinement of a student alone in a room or
				  area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving during the
				  investigation and questioning of the student by school personnel regarding the
				  student's knowledge of or participation in events constituting a violation of
				  the code of student conduct, such as a physical altercation, or an incident
				  involving drugs or weapons.
"Time-out" means a behavioral intervention in which the
				  student is temporarily removed from the learning activity but in which the
				  student is not confined.
Statutory Authority: §
											22.1-16
					 of the Code of Virginia.