Restraint and seclusion are practices used at K-12 schools to maintain school safety. In reality, these practices risk the physical, mental, and emotional health of students subjected to them.

If your student attends a K-12 school in Montana and has been secluded or restrained, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm. You and your family have options, up to and including suing the school. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.

Restraint and Seclusion in Montana

For those familiar with restraint and seclusion, Montana’s restraint and seclusion laws and regulations will likely seem different. For example, the state uses the term isolation time-out in place of seclusion, and uses the umbrella term ‘aversive treatment producers’ when discussing restraint and seclusion.

Montana’s laws apply to public K-12 schools. That Montana’s laws don’t cover a school doesn’t mean that students who attend those schools have no rights. The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with families from public schools, charter schools, specialized schools, and private schools. We provide targeted support to help our clients identify the legal grounds for their lawsuits and protect their students’ rights.

What is Restraint?

Restraint refers to limiting a student’s movements. There are three types of restraint: chemical, mechanical, and physical. Montana defines mechanical and physical restraint in its laws and regulations.

Chemical restraint involves using drugs or medication to control a student’s behavior or movement. Mechanical restraint refers to using equipment or a device to limit a student’s movements. The state bans the use of mechanical restraint.

That Montana doesn’t mention chemical restraint and prohibits mechanical restraint doesn’t mean schools won’t use them. The state bans corporal punishment and any type of physical restraint that is more than reasonable or necessary. If you suspect or know your child has been subjected to chemical or mechanical restraint, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.

Physical Restraint

Montana defines physical restraint as a staff member placing their hands on a student in a way that is reasonable and necessary. School staff may use physical restraint in the following circumstances:

  • To stop or interrupt a disturbance
  • For self-protection
  • To protect any other member of the school community from physical injury, including the student being restrained
  • To gain possession of a weapon or other dangerous object that a student has on their body or is in control of
  • To maintain orderly conduct by moving a student to a waiting line, classroom, lunchroom, principal’s office, or other on-campus facility
  • To protect property from serious harm

A student experiencing physical pain during a physical restraint doesn’t mean the restraint is improper or illegal. When school staff believes that the severity of the restraint is reasonable and necessary, the restraint won’t automatically be considered corporal punishment, which the state bans.

If you disagree with the school’s assessment of the situation, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.

Physical Restraint Misdemeanor

If a staff member uses corporal punishment or if their restraint of a student was more than what was reasonable or necessary, that staff member may face criminal misdemeanor charges. If found guilty, the staff member may face a fine of up to $500.

What is Seclusion?

In Montana, seclusion is known as a time-out. The state defines two different types of time-outs:

An isolation time-out is Montana’s version of seclusion, meaning a student is placed alone in a room.

An exclusion time-out is used for disciplinary purposes. In an exclusion time-out, students are removed from regularly scheduled activities but aren’t placed alone in a room or area.

Isolation Time-Outs

School staff may place students in an isolation time-out when all of the following conditions are met:

  • The student is alone in the isolation room or area for the entire period of the isolation
  • The isolation room’s door is closed for the duration of the isolation
  • During the isolation time-out, the student is prevented from exiting the isolation room or area
  • The student cannot participate in school and classroom activities that occur outside of the isolation room. The student also cannot interact or communicate with other students for the entire isolation period.

During an isolation time-out, school staff must constantly observe the student for the entire length of the isolation.

Prohibited Procedures

Montana bans K-12 schools from using the following at any time:

  • Any procedure with a primary purpose to cause physical pain
  • Any form of mechanical restraint
  • Preventing a student from eating a meal for longer than one hour after the meal’s scheduled start time
  • Exposing a student to any aversive mists, noxious odors, and unpleasant tastes

There are no exceptions to this ban. Schools cannot use these practices at any point. If your student was subjected to any of them, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.

Aversive Treatment Procedures and IEPs

Montana allows schools to include aversive treatment procedures on IEPs when:

  • When a student has undergone a functional behavioral assessment and has had at least two written positive behavioral intervention strategies, which were designed to target the behavior to be changed
  • The IEP team includes at least one staff member who is trained and knowledgeable about best practices in applying positive behavioral interventions, aversive treatment procedures, and nonaversive alternatives for de-escalation of the attention.
  • A student has a written behavioral intervention plan that uses aversive treatment procedures as a part of the IEP.

Protect Your Student

Your child has the right to an education and the right to get that education free of fear. Being subjected to restraint or an isolation time-out can not only put a student’s health and well-being at risk, but it can also disrupt their ability to learn.

Restraint and isolation time-outs don’t solve behavioral issues. Positive behavioral interventions do address students’ behavioral issues and can help to decrease the number of restraint and isolation time-out incidents.

If your child attends a K-12 school in Montana and has been secluded or restrained, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm. We’re here to assist you and support your family. Call us at 888-535-3686 or fill out an online form.

Restraint and Seclusion

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