Analysis of Restraint and Seclusion Legislation and Policy Across States: Adherence to Recommended Principles

Abstract

This review examines each state’s educational legislation and policies on restraint and seclusion in relationship to their alignment with the U.S. Department of Education’s (U.S. DOE) Restraint and Seclusion: Resource Document. Although the Resource Document is not a federal mandate, it provides the U.S. DOE’s recommendations for policy and legislation to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and create safe learning environments for all students. State educational legislation and policies on restraint and seclusion were coded and compared with the U.S. DOE Resource Document’s 15 guiding principles. Results were variable and found that some states’ policies adhered more to the guiding principles than their legislation. In addition, some states recognize the document in their legislation and policy. A summary of the descriptive data and current state statuses are reported.