Connecticut SB 927, including Public Act No. 15-141, concerning seclusion and restraint in schools, was signed by the governor on June 23, 2015 and became effective July 1, 2015.
 
Key points of the bill include:
  1. The law applies to all public schools and private schools with state-approved special education facilities.
  2. The law permits seclusion and restraint on a pupil if there is imminent danger of physical harm, and mandates an end to seclusion and restraint once that imminent danger has ended. Mandates that personnel maintain continuous visual contact during seclusion and restraint. Prohibits physical restraint for disciplinary purposes.
  3. The law only allows physical restraint to be used by a school employee that has training on the proper means for performing physical restraint. No exceptions.
  4. The law mandates local school boards establish reporting requirements on seclusion and restraint and record each incident after July 1, 2016.
  5. Effective July 1, 2015, the law requires school boards to identify a crisis team that will be certified and be recertified in the use of physical restraint and seclusion.
  6. Effective July 1, 2017, the law requires each schoolboard district to implement plans to begin training professionals, paraprofessional staff members, and administrators in prevention of incidents requiring physical restraint and safe physical restraint techniques. School boards must establish procedures on use of seclusion and restraint.
  7. Effective July 1, 2019, the law requires all training professionals, paraprofessional staff members, and administrators to be trained in these categories.
 
CPI Training Can Help You Comply
Schools throughout the US use our Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program because it focuses on prevention, de-escalation techniques, and other alternatives to restraint. Our training helps staff identify underlying causes of student behaviors, and how staff and student behaviors affect each other. The program also emphasizes:
  • Evaluating risk of harm and signs of distress
  • Documenting incidents
  • Safer, less restrictive holding skills to be used only as a last resort
  • Debriefing strategies to help prevent incidents from recurring

Get details [PDF] on how Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training can help you comply with the bill. 

How to Get Training
We can bring the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program on-site to your school, or you can attend training in one of more than 150 public locations throughout the US.
 
Additional Courses
CPI also offers courses and resources on autism spectrum disorders, trauma-informed care, integrating PBIS with training, and many more topics to help you increase care and safety for everyone in your school.
 
More Resources
Get helpful hints for crisis intervention and learn about CPI training and restraint reduction.