Bill Text: FL S0192 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Students with Disabilities in Public Schools
Spectrum:
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-26 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 149 (Ch. 2021-140) [S0192 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0192-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 192
By the Committee on Education; and Senators Book and Rodrigues
581-03256-21 2021192c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to students with disabilities in
3 public schools; amending s. 1003.573, F.S.; defining
4 terms; requiring school districts to prohibit the use
5 of seclusion on students with disabilities in public
6 schools; requiring the Department of Education to make
7 certain information available to the public by a
8 specified date; providing requirements for the use of
9 restraint; prohibiting specified restraint techniques;
10 revising school district policies and procedures
11 relating to restraint; requiring school districts to
12 adopt approved behavioral interventions and restraint
13 training, pursuant to State Board of Education rules;
14 requiring each school district to publicly post
15 specified policies and procedures; requiring school
16 districts to provide training on certain interventions
17 and supports to specified personnel; providing
18 requirements for such training; requiring each school
19 district to publish training procedures in its special
20 policies and procedures manual; requiring schools to
21 develop a crisis intervention plan for certain
22 students; providing requirements for such plans;
23 revising the requirements for documenting, reporting,
24 and monitoring the use of restraint; conforming
25 provisions to changes made by the act; creating s.
26 1003.574, F.S.; creating the Video Cameras in Public
27 School Classrooms Pilot Program; defining terms;
28 requiring a video camera to be placed in specified
29 classrooms upon the request of a parent; requiring
30 video cameras to be operational within a specified
31 time period; providing requirements for the
32 discontinuation of such video cameras; providing
33 requirements for such video cameras; providing an
34 exception; requiring a written explanation if the
35 operation of such cameras is interrupted; requiring
36 district school boards to maintain such explanation
37 for a specified time; requiring schools to provide
38 written notice of the placement of a video camera to
39 certain individuals; providing requirements for
40 retaining and deleting video recordings; prohibiting
41 specified uses of such video cameras and recordings;
42 providing that school principals are the custodians of
43 such video cameras and recordings; providing
44 requirements for school principals and video
45 recordings; providing requirements relating to student
46 privacy; providing requirements for the viewing of
47 such video recordings; providing for an appeal process
48 for actions of a school or school district; providing
49 that incidental viewings of video recordings by
50 specified individuals are not a violation of certain
51 provisions; providing construction; requiring the
52 Department of Education to collect specified
53 information; authorizing the State Board of Education
54 to adopt rules; amending s. 1012.582, F.S.; requiring
55 continuing education and inservice training for
56 instructional personnel teaching students with
57 emotional or behavioral disabilities; conforming
58 provisions to changes made by the act; providing an
59 effective date.
60
61 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
62
63 Section 1. Section 1003.573, Florida Statutes, is amended
64 to read:
65 1003.573 Seclusion and Use of restraint of and seclusion on
66 students with disabilities in public schools.—
67 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
68 (a) “Crisis intervention plan” means an individualized
69 action plan for school personnel to implement when a student
70 exhibits dangerous behavior that may lead to imminent risk of
71 serious injury.
72 (b) “Imminent risk of serious injury” means the threat
73 posed by dangerous behavior that may cause serious physical harm
74 to self or others.
75 (c) “Positive behavior interventions and supports” means
76 the use of behavioral interventions to prevent dangerous
77 behaviors that may cause serious physical harm to the student or
78 others.
79 (d) “Restraint” means the use of a mechanical or physical
80 restraint.
81 1. “Mechanical restraint” means the use of a device that
82 restricts a student’s freedom of movement. The term does not
83 include the use of devices prescribed or recommended by physical
84 or behavioral health professionals when used for indicated
85 purposes.
86 2. “Physical restraint” means the use of manual restraint
87 techniques that involve significant physical force applied by a
88 teacher or other staff member to restrict the movement of all or
89 part of a student’s body. The term does not include briefly
90 holding a student in order to calm or comfort the student or
91 physically escorting a student to a safe location.
92 (e) “Seclusion” means the involuntary confinement of a
93 student in a room or area alone and preventing the student from
94 leaving the room or area. The term does not include time-out
95 used as a behavior management technique intended to calm a
96 student.
97 (f) “Student” means a child with an individual education
98 plan enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 in a school, as
99 defined in s. 1003.01(2), or the Florida School for the Deaf and
100 Blind. The term does not include students in prekindergarten,
101 students who reside in residential care facilities under s.
102 1003.58, or students participating in a Department of Juvenile
103 Justice education program under s. 1003.52.
104 (7) DOCUMENTATION AND REPORTING.—
105 (a) A school shall prepare an incident report within 24
106 hours after a student is released from restraint or seclusion.
107 If the student’s release occurs on a day before the school
108 closes for the weekend, a holiday, or another reason, the
109 incident report must be completed by the end of the school day
110 on the day the school reopens.
111 (b) The following must be included in the incident report:
112 1. The name of the student restrained or secluded.
113 2. The age, grade, ethnicity, and disability of the student
114 restrained or secluded.
115 3. The date and time of the event and the duration of the
116 restraint or seclusion.
117 4. The location at which the restraint or seclusion
118 occurred.
119 5. A description of the type of restraint used in terms
120 established by the department of Education.
121 6. The name of the person using or assisting in the
122 restraint or seclusion of the student and the date the person
123 was last trained in the use of positive behavior interventions
124 and supports.
125 7. The name of any nonstudent who was present to witness
126 the restraint or seclusion.
127 8. A description of the incident, including all of the
128 following:
129 a. The context in which the restraint or seclusion
130 occurred.
131 b. The student’s behavior leading up to and precipitating
132 the decision to use manual or physical restraint or seclusion,
133 including an indication as to why there was an imminent risk of
134 serious injury or death to the student or others.
135 c. The specific positive behavior interventions and
136 supports behavioral strategies used to prevent and deescalate
137 the behavior.
138 d. What occurred with the student immediately after the
139 termination of the restraint or seclusion.
140 e. Any injuries, visible marks, or possible medical
141 emergencies that may have occurred during the restraint or
142 seclusion, documented according to district policies.
143 f. Evidence of steps taken to notify the student’s parent
144 or guardian.
145 g. The date the crisis intervention plan was last reviewed
146 and whether changes were recommended.
147 (c) A school shall notify the parent or guardian of a
148 student each time manual or physical restraint or seclusion is
149 used. Such notification must be in writing and provided before
150 the end of the school day on which the restraint or seclusion
151 occurs. Reasonable efforts must also be taken to notify the
152 parent or guardian by telephone or computer e-mail, or both, and
153 these efforts must be documented. The school shall obtain, and
154 keep in its records, the parent’s or guardian’s signed
155 acknowledgment that he or she was notified of his or her child’s
156 restraint or seclusion.
157 (d) A school shall also provide the parent or guardian with
158 the completed incident report in writing by mail within 3 school
159 days after a student was manually or physically restrained or
160 secluded. The school shall obtain, and keep in its records, the
161 parent’s or guardian’s signed acknowledgment that he or she
162 received a copy of the incident report.
163 (2) SECLUSION.—Each school district shall prohibit school
164 personnel from using seclusion.
165 (8) MONITORING.—
166 (a) Monitoring of The use of manual or physical restraint
167 or seclusion on students shall be monitored occur at the
168 classroom, building, district, and state levels.
169 (b) Any documentation prepared by a school pursuant to as
170 required in subsection (7) (1) shall be provided to the school
171 principal, the district director of Exceptional Student
172 Education, and the bureau chief of the Bureau of Exceptional
173 Education and Student Services electronically each month that
174 the school is in session.
175 (c) The department shall maintain aggregate data of
176 incidents of manual or physical restraint and seclusion and
177 disaggregate the data for analysis by county, school, student
178 exceptionality, and other variables, including the type and
179 method of restraint or seclusion used. This information shall be
180 updated monthly, de-identified, and made available to the public
181 through the department’s website no later than October 1, 2021.
182 (d) The department shall establish standards for
183 documenting, reporting, and monitoring the incident reports
184 related to the use of manual or physical restraint or mechanical
185 restraint, and occurrences of seclusion. These standards shall
186 be provided to school districts by October 1, 2011.
187 (3) RESTRAINT.—
188 (a) Authorized school personnel may use restraint only when
189 all positive behavior interventions and supports have been
190 exhausted. Restraint may be used only when there is an imminent
191 risk of serious injury and shall be discontinued as soon as the
192 threat posed by the dangerous behavior has dissipated.
193 Techniques or devices such as straightjackets, zip ties,
194 handcuffs, or tie downs may not be used in ways that may
195 obstruct or restrict breathing or blood flow or that place a
196 student in a facedown position with the student’s hands
197 restrained behind the student’s back. Restraint techniques may
198 not be used to inflict pain to induce compliance.
199 (b) Notwithstanding the authority provided in s. 1003.32,
200 restraint shall be used only to protect the safety of students,
201 school personnel, or others and may not be used for student
202 discipline or to correct student noncompliance.
203 (c) The degree of force applied during physical restraint
204 must be only that degree of force necessary to protect the
205 student or others from imminent risk of serious injury.
206 (4) SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—
207 (a) Each school district shall adopt approved behavioral
208 interventions and restraint training, pursuant to State Board of
209 Education rules, and identify all school personnel authorized to
210 use the interventions. Each school district shall develop
211 policies and procedures that are consistent with this section
212 which and that govern the following:
213 1. Incident-reporting procedures.
214 2. Data collection and monitoring, including when, where,
215 and why students are restrained and or secluded; the frequency
216 of occurrences of such restraint or seclusion; and the prone or
217 mechanical restraint that is most used.
218 3. Monitoring and reporting of data collected.
219 4. Training programs and procedures relating to manual or
220 physical restraint as described in subsection (3) and seclusion.
221 5. The district’s plan for selecting personnel to be
222 trained pursuant to this subsection.
223 6. The district’s plan for reducing the use of restraint,
224 and seclusion particularly in settings in which it occurs
225 frequently or with students who are restrained repeatedly, and
226 for reducing the use of prone restraint and mechanical
227 restraint. The plan must include a goal for reducing the use of
228 restraint and seclusion and must include activities, skills, and
229 resources needed to achieve that goal. Activities may include,
230 but are not limited to:
231 a. Additional training in positive behavior interventions
232 and supports. behavioral support and crisis management;
233 b. Parental involvement.;
234 c. Data review.;
235 d. Updates of students’ functional behavioral analysis and
236 positive behavior intervention plans.;
237 e. Additional student evaluations.;
238 f. Debriefing with staff.;
239 g. Use of schoolwide positive behavior support.; and
240 h. Changes to the school environment.
241 i. Analysis of data to determine trends.
242 j. Ongoing reduction of the use of restraint.
243 (b) Any revisions a school district makes to its to the
244 district’s policies and procedures pursuant to this section,
245 which must be prepared as part of its special policies and
246 procedures, must be filed with the bureau chief of the Bureau of
247 Exceptional Education and Student Services within 90 days after
248 the revision no later than January 31, 2012.
249 (c) At the beginning of each school year, each school
250 district shall publicly post its policies and procedures on
251 positive behavior interventions and supports as adopted by the
252 school district.
253 (5) TRAINING.—Each school district shall provide training
254 to all school personnel authorized to use positive behavior
255 interventions and supports pursuant to school district policy.
256 Training shall be provided annually and must include:
257 (a) The use of positive behavior interventions and
258 supports.
259 (b) Risk assessment procedures to identify when restraint
260 may be used.
261 (c) Examples of when positive behavior interventions and
262 support techniques have failed to reduce the imminent risk of
263 serious injury.
264 (d) Examples of safe and appropriate restraint techniques
265 and how to use these techniques with multiple staff members
266 working as a team.
267 (e) Instruction in the district’s documentation and
268 reporting requirements.
269 (f) Procedures to identify and deal with possible medical
270 emergencies arising during the use of restraint.
271 (g) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
272
273 Each school district shall publish the procedures for the
274 training required under this subsection in the district’s
275 special policies and procedures manual.
276 (6) CRISIS INTERVENTION PLAN.—
277 (a) Upon the second time a student is restrained during a
278 semester, the school shall develop a crisis intervention plan
279 for the student. The crisis intervention plan shall be developed
280 by a team comprised of the student’s parent, school personnel,
281 and applicable physical and behavioral health professionals.
282 (b) The crisis intervention plan must include:
283 1. Specific positive behavior interventions and supports to
284 use in response to dangerous behaviors that create a threat of
285 imminent risk of serious injury.
286 2. Known physical and behavioral health concerns that will
287 limit the use of restraint for the student.
288 3. A timetable for the review and, if necessary, revision
289 of the crisis intervention plan.
290 (c) The school must provide a copy of the crisis
291 intervention plan to the student’s parent
292 (4) PROHIBITED RESTRAINT.—School personnel may not use a
293 mechanical restraint or a manual or physical restraint that
294 restricts a student’s breathing.
295 (5) SECLUSION.—School personnel may not close, lock, or
296 physically block a student in a room that is unlit and does not
297 meet the rules of the State Fire Marshal for seclusion time-out
298 rooms.
299 Section 2. Section 1003.574, Florida Statutes, is created
300 to read:
301 1003.574 Video cameras in public school classrooms; pilot
302 program.—Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, the Video
303 Cameras in Public School Classrooms Pilot Program is created for
304 a period of 3 school years.
305 (1) As used in this section, the term:
306 (a) “Incident” means an event, a circumstance, an act, or
307 an omission that results in the abuse or neglect of a student
308 by:
309 1. An employee of a public school or school district; or
310 2. Another student.
311 (b) “School district” means the Broward County Public
312 Schools.
313 (c) “Self-contained classroom” means a classroom at a
314 public school in which a majority of the students in regular
315 attendance are provided special education services and are
316 assigned to one or more such classrooms for at least 50 percent
317 of the instructional day.
318 (2)(a) A school district shall provide a video camera to
319 any school with a self-contained classroom upon the written
320 request of a parent of a student in the classroom.
321 (b) Within 30 days after receipt of the request from a
322 parent, a video camera shall be operational in each self
323 contained classroom in which the parent’s student is in regular
324 attendance for the remainder of the school year, unless the
325 parent withdraws his or her request in writing.
326 (3) If the student who is the subject of the initial
327 request is no longer in attendance in the classroom and a school
328 discontinues operation of a video camera during a school year,
329 no later than the fifth school day before the date the operation
330 of the video camera is discontinued, the school must notify the
331 parents of each student in regular attendance in the classroom
332 that operation of the video camera will cease unless the
333 continued use of the camera is requested by a parent. No later
334 than the 10th school day before the end of each school year, the
335 school must notify the parents of each student in regular
336 attendance in the classroom that operation of the video camera
337 will not continue during the following school year unless a
338 written request is submitted by a parent for the next school
339 year.
340 (4)(a) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom
341 must be capable of all of the following:
342 1. Monitoring all areas of the self-contained classroom,
343 including, without limitation, any room attached to the self
344 contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
345 2. Recording audio from all areas of the self-contained
346 classroom, including, without limitation, any room attached to
347 the self-contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
348 (b) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom may
349 not monitor a restroom or any other area in the self-contained
350 classroom where a student changes his or her clothes, except for
351 the entryway, exitway, or hallway outside a restroom or other
352 area where a student changes his or her clothes because of the
353 layout of the self-contained classroom.
354 (c) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom is
355 not required to be in operation when students are not present in
356 the self-contained classroom.
357 (d) If there is an interruption in the operation of the
358 video camera for any reason, an explanation must be submitted in
359 writing to the school principal and the district school board
360 which explains the reason for and duration of the interruption.
361 The written explanation must be maintained at the district
362 school board office for at least 1 year.
363 (5) Before a school initially places a video camera in a
364 self-contained classroom pursuant to this section, the school
365 shall provide written notice of the placement of such video
366 camera to all of the following:
367 (a) The parent of each student who is assigned to the self
368 contained classroom.
369 (b) Each student who is assigned to the self-contained
370 classroom.
371 (c) The school district.
372 (d) Each school employee who is assigned to work with one
373 or more students in the self-contained classroom.
374 (6) A school shall:
375 (a) Retain video recorded from a video camera placed
376 pursuant to this section for at least 3 months after the date
377 the video was recorded, after which the recording shall be
378 deleted or otherwise made irretrievable; or
379 (b) Retain the recording until the conclusion of any
380 investigation or any administrative or legal proceedings that
381 result from the recording have been completed, including,
382 without limitation, the exhaustion of all appeals.
383 (7) A school or school district may not:
384 (a) Allow regular, continuous, or continual monitoring of
385 videos recorded under this section; or
386 (b) Use videos recorded under this section for teacher
387 evaluations or any purpose other than for ensuring the health,
388 safety, and well-being of students receiving special education
389 services in a self-contained classroom.
390 (8) The principal of the school is the custodian of a video
391 camera operated pursuant to this section, all recordings
392 generated by that video camera, and access to such recordings.
393 (a) The release or viewing of any video recording under
394 this section must comply with s. 1002.22.
395 (b) A school or school district shall:
396 1. Conceal the identity of any student who appears in a
397 video recording, but is not involved in the alleged incident
398 documented by the video recording, which the school allows to be
399 viewed under subsection (9), including, without limitation,
400 blurring the face of the uninvolved student.
401 2. Protect the confidentiality of all student records
402 contained in a video recording in accordance with s. 1002.22.
403 (9)(a) Within 7 days after receiving a request to view a
404 video recording, a school or school district shall allow the
405 following individuals to view a video recording made under this
406 section:
407 1. A school or school district employee who is involved in
408 an alleged incident that is documented by the video recording as
409 part of the investigative process;
410 2. A parent of a student who is involved in an alleged
411 incident that is documented by the video recording and has been
412 reported to the school or school district;
413 3. A school or school district employee as part of an
414 investigation into an alleged incident that is documented by the
415 video recording and has been reported to the school or school
416 district;
417 4. A law enforcement officer as part of an investigation
418 into an alleged incident that is documented by the video
419 recording and has been reported to the law enforcement agency;
420 or
421 5. The Department of Children and Families as part of a
422 child abuse or neglect investigation.
423 (b) A person who requests to view a recording shall make
424 himself or herself available for viewing the recording within 30
425 days after being notified by the school or school district that
426 the person’s request has been granted.
427 (c) A person who views the recording and suspects that
428 child abuse has occurred must report the suspected child abuse
429 to the Department of Children and Families.
430 (10)(a) Any individual may appeal to the State Board of
431 Education regarding an action by a school or school district
432 which the individual alleges to be in violation of this section.
433 (b) The state board shall grant a hearing on an appeal
434 under this subsection within 45 days after receiving the appeal.
435 (11) A school or school district does not violate
436 subsection (8) if a contractor or other employee of the school
437 or school district incidentally views a video recording made
438 under this section in connection with the performance of his or
439 her duties related to either of the following:
440 (a) The installation, operation, or maintenance of video
441 equipment; or
442 (b) The retention of video recordings.
443 (12) This section does not:
444 (a) Limit the access of the parent of a student, under the
445 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. s.
446 1232g, or any other law, to a video recording regarding his or
447 her student.
448 (b) Waive any immunity from liability of a school district
449 or an employee of a school district.
450 (c) Create any liability for a cause of action against a
451 school or school district or an employee of a school or school
452 district carrying out the duties and responsibilities required
453 by this section.
454 (d) Apply to self-contained classrooms in which the only
455 students receiving special education services are those who have
456 been deemed gifted.
457 (13) The department shall collect information relating to
458 the installation and maintenance of video cameras under this
459 section.
460 (14) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
461 implement this section.
462 Section 3. Section 1012.582, Florida Statutes, is amended
463 to read:
464 1012.582 Continuing education and inservice training for
465 teaching students with developmental and emotional or behavioral
466 disabilities.—
467 (1) The Commissioner of Education shall develop
468 recommendations to incorporate instruction regarding autism
469 spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, and other developmental
470 disabilities, and emotional or behavioral disabilities into
471 continuing education or inservice training requirements for
472 instructional personnel. These recommendations shall address:
473 (a) Early identification of, and intervention for, students
474 who have autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, or other
475 developmental disabilities, or emotional or behavioral
476 disabilities.
477 (b) Curriculum planning and curricular and instructional
478 modifications, adaptations, and specialized strategies and
479 techniques.
480 (c) The use of available state and local resources.
481 (d) The use of positive behavior interventions and
482 behavioral supports to deescalate problem behaviors.
483 (e) The Appropriate use of manual physical restraint and
484 seclusion techniques, positive behavior interventions and
485 supports, and effective classroom behavior management
486 strategies.
487 (2) In developing the recommendations, the commissioner
488 shall consult with the State Surgeon General, the Director of
489 the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, representatives from
490 the education community in the state, and representatives from
491 entities that promote awareness about autism spectrum disorder,
492 Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities, and
493 emotional or behavioral disabilities and provide programs and
494 services to persons with developmental disabilities, including,
495 but not limited to, regional autism centers pursuant to s.
496 1004.55.
497 (3) Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, the
498 Department of Education shall incorporate the course curricula
499 recommended by the Commissioner of Education, pursuant to
500 subsection (1), into existing requirements for the continuing
501 education or inservice training of instructional personnel. The
502 requirements of this section may not add to the total hours
503 required for continuing education or inservice training as
504 currently established by the department.
505 (4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules pursuant
506 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section.
507 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
