West Virginia School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Restraint and Seclusion

Discipline Compendium

West Virginia School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Restraint and Seclusion

Category: Conditions on Use of Certain Forms of Discipline
Subcategory: Restraint and Seclusion
State: West Virginia

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LAWS

No relevant laws found.

REGULATIONS

§126-99-5. Severability.

Section 5. Use of Restraint Restraint, reasonable force, may be used to prevent a student from hurting himself/herself or any other person or property. Behavior interventions and support practices must be implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of the student and others. When the use of physical restraint is necessary, the following guidelines must be followed:

-shall be limited to the use of such reasonable force as is necessary to address the emergency;

-shall not restrict breathing (e.g. prone restraint); place pressure or weight on the chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, neck, or throat; or cause physical harm;

-shall be discontinued at the point at which the emergency no longer exists;

-shall be implemented in such a way as to protect the health and safety of the student and others; and

-shall not deprive the student of basic human necessities.

Appropriate (intended use) utilization of mechanical restraints, such as seat belts or feeding tables, when applied for their intended purpose is not prohibited. The application of mechanical restraint is prohibited as an intervention or consequence for inappropriate behavior.

A core team of personnel in each school, including an administrator designee and any general or special education personnel likely to use restraint, must be trained annually in the use of:

-nationally recognized restraint process, and

-current professionally accepted practices and standards regarding behavior interventions and supports including prevention and de-escalation techniques.

Any non-trained personnel called upon to use restraint in an emergency must receive training within 30 days following the use of restraint if the principal determines the situation is likely to reoccur.

Comprehensive documentation and immediate notification of restraint usage is required. [...]

Section 6. Collaboration with Law Enforcement

Police Conducting an Investigation in the School. When a student is questioned by the police or by school officials in the presence of the police, the school administration and police must cooperate to ensure the privacy of the student is protected. It is the police officer's responsibility to ensure the student's constitutional rights are not violated and to determine if the student's parent or guardian, or lawyer should be contacted prior to questioning. The officer must also determine when the use of restraints is necessary to control an unruly student to prevent the student from harming him/herself or others during questioning.

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