Chapter 5.5. Behavioral Interventions of California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 30. >> Chapter 5.5.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) That the state has continually sought to provide an
appropriate and meaningful educational program in a safe and healthy
environment for all children regardless of possible physical, mental,
or emotionally disabling conditions.
(2) That some schoolage individuals with exceptional needs have
significant behavioral challenges that have an adverse impact on
their learning or the learning of other pupils, or both.
(3) That Section 1400(c)(5)(F) of Title 20 of the United States
Code states that research and experience demonstrate that the
education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by
providing incentives for positive behavioral interventions and
supports to address the learning and behavioral needs of those
children.
(4) That procedures for the elimination of maladaptive behaviors
shall not include those deemed unacceptable under Section 49001 or
those that cause pain or trauma.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature:
(1) That children exhibiting serious behavioral challenges receive
timely and appropriate assessments and positive supports and
interventions in accordance with the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations.
(2) That assessments and positive behavioral interventions and
supports be developed and implemented in a manner informed by
guidance from the United States Department of Education and technical
assistance centers sponsored by the Office of Special Education
Programs of the United States Department of Education.
(3) That when behavioral interventions, supports, and other
strategies are used, they be used in consideration of the pupil's
physical freedom and social interaction, be administered in a manner
that respects human dignity and personal privacy, and that ensure a
pupil's right to placement in the least restrictive educational
environment.
(4) That behavioral intervention plans be developed and used, to
the extent possible, in a consistent manner when the pupil is also
the responsibility of another agency for residential care or related
services.
(5) That training programs be developed and implemented in
institutions of higher education that train teachers and that
in-service training programs be made available as necessary in school
districts and county offices of education to ensure that adequately
trained staff are available to work effectively with the behavioral
intervention needs of individuals with exceptional needs.
(a) This chapter applies to any individual with exceptional
needs who is in a public school program, including a state school for
the disabled pursuant to Part 32 (commencing with Section 59000), or
who is placed in a nonpublic school program pursuant to Sections
56365 to 56366.5, inclusive.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall monitor and
supervise the implementation of this chapter.
(a) Emergency interventions may only be used to control
unpredictable, spontaneous behavior that poses clear and present
danger of serious physical harm to the individual with exceptional
needs, or others, and that cannot be immediately prevented by a
response less restrictive than the temporary application of a
technique used to contain the behavior.
(b) Emergency interventions shall not be used as a substitute for
the systematic behavioral intervention plan that is designed to
change, replace, modify, or eliminate a targeted behavior.
(c) No emergency intervention shall be employed for longer than is
necessary to contain the behavior. A situation that requires
prolonged use of an emergency intervention shall require the staff to
seek assistance of the schoolsite administrator or law enforcement
agency, as applicable to the situation.
(d) Emergency interventions shall not include:
(1) Locked seclusion, unless it is in a facility otherwise
licensed or permitted by state law to use a locked room.
(2) Employment of a device, material, or objects that
simultaneously immobilize all four extremities, except that
techniques such as prone containment may be used as an emergency
intervention by staff trained in those procedures.
(3) An amount of force that exceeds that which is reasonable and
necessary under the circumstances.
(e) To prevent emergency interventions from being used in lieu of
planned, systematic behavioral interventions, the parent, guardian,
and residential care provider, if appropriate, shall be notified
within one schoolday if an emergency intervention is used or serious
property damage occurs. A behavioral emergency report shall
immediately be completed and maintained in the file of the individual
with exceptional needs. The behavioral emergency report shall
include all of the following:
(1) The name and age of the individual with exceptional needs.
(2) The setting and location of the incident.
(3) The name of the staff or other persons involved.
(4) A description of the incident and the emergency intervention
used, and whether the individual with exceptional needs is currently
engaged in any systematic behavioral intervention plan.
(5) Details of any injuries sustained by the individual with
exceptional needs, or others, including staff, as a result of the
incident.
(f) All behavioral emergency reports shall immediately be
forwarded to, and reviewed by, a designated responsible
administrator.
(g) If a behavioral emergency report is written regarding an
individual with exceptional needs who does not have a behavioral
intervention plan, the designated responsible administrator shall,
within two days, schedule an individualized education program (IEP)
team meeting to review the emergency report, to determine the
necessity for a functional behavioral assessment, and to determine
the necessity for an interim plan. The IEP team shall document the
reasons for not conducting the functional behavioral assessment, not
developing an interim plan, or both.
(h) If a behavioral emergency report is written regarding an
individual with exceptional needs who has a positive behavioral
intervention plan, an incident involving a previously unseen serious
behavior problem, or where a previously designed intervention is
ineffective, shall be referred to the IEP team to review and
determine if the incident constitutes a need to modify the positive
behavioral intervention plan.
(a) A local educational agency or nonpublic, nonsectarian
school or agency serving individuals with exceptional needs pursuant
to Sections 56365 and 56366, shall not authorize, order, consent to,
or pay for the following interventions, or any other interventions
similar to or like the following:
(1) Any intervention that is designed to, or likely to, cause
physical pain, including, but not limited to, electric shock.
(2) An intervention that involves the release of noxious, toxic,
or otherwise unpleasant sprays, mists, or substances in proximity to
the face of the individual.
(3) An intervention that denies adequate sleep, food, water,
shelter, bedding, physical comfort, or access to bathroom facilities.
(4) An intervention that is designed to subject, used to subject,
or likely to subject, the individual to verbal abuse, ridicule, or
humiliation, or that can be expected to cause excessive emotional
trauma.
(5) Restrictive interventions that employ a device, material, or
objects that simultaneously immobilize all four extremities,
including the procedure known as prone containment, except that prone
containment or similar techniques may be used by trained personnel
as a limited emergency intervention.
(6) Locked seclusion, unless it is in a facility otherwise
licensed or permitted by state law to use a locked room.
(7) An intervention that precludes adequate supervision of the
individual.
(8) An intervention that deprives the individual of one or more of
his or her senses.
(b) In the case of a child whose behavior impedes the child's
learning or that of others, the individualized education program team
shall consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and
supports, and other strategies, to address that behavior, consistent
with Section 1414(d)(3)(B)(i) and (d)(4) of Title 20 of the United
States Code and associated federal regulations.
(a) The Superintendent shall repeal those regulations
governing the use of behavioral interventions with individuals with
exceptional needs receiving special education and related services
that are no longer supported by statute, including Section 3052 and
subdivisions (d), (e), (f), (g), and (ab) of Section 3001 of Title 5
of the California Code of Regulations, as those provisions existed on
January 10, 2013.
(b) This chapter is necessary to implement the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and
associated federal regulations. This chapter is intended to provide
the clarity, definition, and specificity necessary for local
educational agencies to comply with the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and shall be
implemented by local educational agencies without the development by
the Superintendent and adoption by the state board of any additional
regulations.
(c) Pursuant to Section 1401(9) of Title 20 of the United States
Code, special education and related services must meet the standards
of the department.
(d) As a condition of receiving funding from the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et
seq.), a local educational agency shall agree to adhere to this
chapter and implementing federal regulations set forth in this
chapter.
(e) The Superintendent may monitor local educational agency
compliance with this chapter and may take appropriate action,
including fiscal repercussions, if either of the following is found:
(1) The local educational agency failed to comply with this
chapter and failed to comply substantially with corrective action
orders issued by the department resulting from monitoring findings or
complaint investigations.
(2) The local educational agency failed to implement the decision
of a due process hearing officer based on noncompliance with this
part, provisions of the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), or the federal
implementing regulations, wherein noncompliance resulted in the
denial of, or impeded the delivery of, a free appropriate public
education for an individual with exceptional needs.
(f) Commencing with the 2010-11 fiscal year, if any activities
authorized pursuant to this chapter and implementing regulations are
found be a state reimbursable mandate pursuant to Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution, state funding provided
for purposes of special education pursuant to Item 6110-161-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the annual Budget Act shall first be used to directly
offset any mandated costs.
(g) The Legislature hereby requests the Department of Finance on
or before December 31, 2013, to exercise its authority pursuant to
subdivision (d) of Section 17557 of the Government Code to file a
request with the Commission on State Mandates for the purpose of
amending the parameters and guidelines of CSM-4464 to delete any
reimbursable activities that have been repealed by statute or
executive order and to update offsetting revenues that apply to the
mandated program.
The superintendent shall explore with representatives of
institutions of higher education and the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing, the current training requirements for teachers to
ensure that sufficient training is available in appropriate
behavioral interventions for people entering the field of education.
(a) A person recognized by the national Behavior Analyst
Certification Board as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst may conduct
behavior assessments and provide behavioral intervention services
for individuals with exceptional needs.
(b) This section does not require a district, special education
local plan area, or county office to use a Board Certified Behavior
Analyst to conduct behavior assessments and provide behavioral
intervention services for individuals with exceptional needs.