Discipline and Restraint

There are a lot of cases in the news regarding abuse of special education students by teachers under the guise of discipline. Many of the aides in these cases say that they did not know what was in the student's IEP (Individual Education Plan) or BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan) so they waited before informing administration about abuse. The law requires that your child's aide and any school staff members authorized to discipline a student with a disability know what is the student's IEP or BIP with regard to discipline.

In Pontotoc County (MS) Sch. Dist., 51 IDELR 286 (OCRVI, Dallas (MS) 2008) the Court found that if a child's IEP specifies a certain method of discipline, staff members are not free to utilize different techniques. In that particular case the student's aides did follow her IEP and only used a therapeutic basket hold restraint to pacify the child. All staff members were trained in the technique and were aware that it was the only disciplinary option.

Parent need to be aware that this can cause problems. In an eariler blog we discussed "qualifed immunity" which makes teachers immune from personal lawsuits for action within the schope of employement. In the case of C.N. by J.N. v. Willmar Pub. Schs., 53 IDELR 251 (8th Cir. 2010) a 3rd grader's Behavior Intervention plan listed restraint and seclusion from other students as part of the plan. The Court then stated that the parent could not show that the teacher's use of those techniques violated the child's constituional rights. The 8th Court of Appeals affirmed this decision and held that the teacher was entitled to qualified immunity on the parents' Section 1983 claims.

In conclusion, parents need to be aware that there are ramifications to allowing restraints and/or seclusion to be used as part of the BIP.