Pupil discipline: restraint and seclusion.

Existing law prohibits a person employed by or engaged in a public school to inflict, or cause to be inflicted, corporal punishment upon a pupil. This bill would authorize an educational provider, as defined, to use physical or mechanical restraint or seclusion, as defined, if specified conditions are met. The bill would require a seclusion room utilized by an educational provider to fulfill specified safety requirements. The bill would prohibit an educational provider from depriving a pupil of sleep, food, hydration, or access to bathroom facilities and from utilizing specified restraint and seclusion techniques, including, but not limited to, using chemical restraint, as defined, using an improvised mechanical restraint device, and using physical or mechanical restraint techniques that restrict breathing. The bill would require the State Department of Education to establish a mandatory system of data collection regarding the use of physical and mechanical restraint and seclusion that is consistent, timely, and publicly accessible. The bill would require an educational provider to annually report the data required to be collected to the department and would require the reported data to include the name of the educational provider and other specified information. To the extent that the data collection and reporting requirements would impose new duties on local educational agencies not required by federal law, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the data collection and reporting requirements be conducted in compliance with specified federal law, and impose no new duties or higher level of service on local educational agencies. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, with regard to certain mandates, no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.