Lawmakers asked to limit use of restraint, seclusion in schools

South Dakota education leaders want lawmakers to limit schools' ability to physically restrain students or lock them in isolation. 

A bill sponsored by the Committee on Education would bar schools from holding students in a face-down position or putting them alone in a locked room without their consent. It would also require schools to have a formal policy related to restraint and seclusion as well as training for teachers. 

The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 46, has been in the works since 2015, when a federal push for student safety prompted the Department of Education to start a task force on restraint and seclusion.

A majority of states already have laws or rules prohibiting this type of punishment, but Linda Turner, special education director for the state, said the bill isn't a game of catch up. 

"But we do want to make sure that we're protecting students," Turner said. 

The bill is not yet scheduled for a committee hearing.

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It's not clear how often South Dakota students are restrained or placed in isolated rooms, as the state does not track those incidents. The most recent data from the federal Office for Civil Rights show that 288 students statewide were secluded in the 2013-14 school year, and another 238 were restrained. 

In Sioux Falls, district policy advises teachers against using restraint, but it does allow for "physical intervention" if students threaten harm to themselves or others. The policy doesn't address seclusion.

"That's not a practice that we use," said Kate Bartell Nowak, legal counsel for the Sioux Falls School District. 

While involuntary confinement is not used, the district does sometimes keep students in an isolated room either as a place to calm down or if a student requests it, Bartell Nowak said. The district declined to tell the Argus Leader how often restraint or seclusion happens in Sioux Falls schools. 

Previously: Sioux Falls school board updates corporal punishment policy

National data suggest that restraint and seclusion is most often used on students with disabilities. A 2014 report by NPR and ProPublica found that 75 percent of restraint and seclusion punishments were used on students with disabilities.

SB 46 is a step in the right direction for South Dakota, but more specifics are needed to protect students, said Sara Lindquist, executive director of the Sioux Falls branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

"It's something that should've been done a long time ago," she said. 

But Lindquist wants to ensure teachers know more about the mental health history of the students they're potentially restraining. Restraint and seclusion can cause both students and parents trauma, she said, and it's important for teachers to know how to respond to a child who may have a mental illness or disability.

Despite wanting some changes, Lindquist overall sees the bill as a positive, especially the provision to require crisis intervention training for teachers.

"Any time the state looks into something like this is a good thing," she said. "It brings conversation."