Restraint and seclusion are controversial practices that can harm students subjected to them while failing to provide any meaningful long-term solutions. These practices, rather than making schools safer, can worsen students’ behavioral or misconduct issues.

If your student attends a K-12 school in Wyoming 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 Wyoming

Wyoming’s rules on seclusion and restraint apply to public K-12 schools. That your student doesn’t attend a covered school doesn’t mean a school can do whatever they want to your student.

The Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm works with clients to find grounds for lawsuits regardless of the school their student attends. No school has the power to infringe on your student’s right to an education free of fear.

What Is Restraint?

Restraint refers to limiting a student’s ability to move. Physical restraint involves the use of physical force to restrict the free movement of all or some of a student’s body.

Prone restraint is a type of physical restraint. While traditionally defined as facedown restraint, Wyoming defines prone restraints as any restraint that:

  • Obstructs a student’s airway or ability to breathe
  • Blocks a staff member’s view of a student’s face
  • Restricts a student’s ability to communicate distress
  • Places pressure on a student’s head, neck, or torso
  • Involve straddling a student’s torso

Wyoming bans all types of prone restraints.

Mechanical restraint is the use of any device or material on all or part of a student’s body. Aversive interventions are any actions, which can include restraint, that are used with the primary intention of causing a student pain or discomfort.

Restraint is not:

  • Comforting or calming a student.
  • Escorting a student while touching or holding the student’s hand or arm, and when the student isn’t resisting.
  • Intervening in a fight.
  • Using assistive or protective devices for their intended use and when prescribed by qualified professionals.

When Schools May Restrain a Student

Wyoming sets minimum requirements for when and how schools may restrain students. Schools may decide to have higher requirements, but they cannot have fewer than what the state requires.

To restrain a student, schools must:

  • Only trained staff may use restraint as part of a planned behavior intervention.
    • The state has an exception for situations involving a bona fide emergency of an imminent risk to the health or safety.
  • Schools can at no point use the following practices:
    • Aversive interventions
    • Mechanical restraint
    • Prone restraint
  • Schools must use restraint for the minimum necessary amount of time to allow a student to regain control and for staff to restore a safe environment.
  • All schools must have guidelines for restraint duration.
    • If a restraint exceeds a school’s set limit, there must be an immediate administrative review. During this review, school staff must determine if and under what conditions the restraint may continue.
  • All schools must have an incident review strategy and document each restraint incident.

If you believe your student’s school restrained them in violation of any of the above, contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm.

What Is Seclusion?

Seclusion occurs when school staff removes a student from a classroom or school activity and isolates the student in a separate area. Seclusion occurs when school staff places a student in a room or area to purposefully separated them from other students and members of the school community. The student in seclusion is unable to leave that room or area.

Wyoming differentiates seclusion from locked seclusion. Locked seclusion means a student is placed in a seclusion room that has a locking device that doesn’t require constant human contact to remain bolted. Wyoming bans this type of locked seclusion.

What is not seclusion:

  • When a student requests a break
  • Time Outs
  • In-school suspension
  • Detention
  • Any similar disciplinary measures

Wyoming defines two additional types of ways to isolate students, seclusion from the learning environment and time-out, which both differ from seclusion in key ways.

Seclusion from Learning Environment

Wyoming also has a specific category of seclusion known as seclusion from the learning environment. In this situation, a student isn’t physically isolated but isolated via sight and sound. School staff will isolate a student in a way that restricts the student’s ability to participate in regular classroom or school activities. Wyoming’s restrictions on seclusion don’t apply to this type of seclusion.

Time-Out

With a time-out, a student has a chance to take a step back from classroom or school activities to calm down. While school may have dedicated time-out areas, students in a time-out are at no point physically prevented from leaving the area.

In some cases, students may be able to request a time-out. Time-outs may, for example, be included on a student’s IEP or BIP as a planned intervention.

When Schools May Seclude a Student

Wyoming sets minimum requirements for when and how schools may seclude students. While schools may decide to have higher requirements, they cannot have fewer than what the state requires.

Time-outs and seclusion from the learning environment do not fall under these rules.

During a seclusion incident, all of the following must occur:

  • School staff must be able to see and hear the student at all times.
  • Students must have access to normal meals and personal hygiene opportunities.
  • All schools must have a review strategy and document each restraint incident.
  • Schools may use isolation rooms in emergencies.
    • All isolation rooms must meet the state’s minimum requirements.
  • If schools have an isolation room, they must have guidelines that include maximum limits for time in the room and when the student may exit.
    • If seclusion exceeds a school’s set limit, there must be an immediate administrative review. During this review, school staff must determine if and under what conditions the seclusion may continue.

Requirements for Isolation Rooms

If schools have an isolation room, these rooms must meet Wyoming’s minimal physical space requirements. These include:

  • School staff must have a way to continuously monitor a student, via sight and sound, while the student is in the isolation room.
  • The room’s dimensions must be sufficient to allow a student to move about and lie down comfortably.
  • The room must have adequate light with switches and controls located outside the room.
  • The room must be adequately ventilated. Any controls must be located outside the room for fans or other ventilation methods.
  • The room must be kept at a temperature that falls within the normal human comfort range, and any controls must be located outside the room. The temperature should be consistent with the rest of the school building.
  • The room must be free of any objects or fixtures that could be potentially dangerous to students.
  • All rooms must meet all relevant fire and safety codes.
  • The room must be made of materials that are safe for the intended use and prevent student injury.
  • Only locks that remain in place through constant human contact can be used.
  • If a person isn’t holding the locking mechanism in place, the room can be opened from the inside.

Placing students in any room that violates the physical requirements means that the student has been illegally secluded. Contact the Education Law Team at the LLF National Law Firm immediately if this is the case for your child.

Protect Your Student

Being subjected to restraint or seclusion can cause a student physical, mental, and emotional harm. These practices can disrupt their education and fail to address the reasons for a student’s actions or behavior.

If your child attends a K-12 school in Wyoming 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.

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