Summary: 

Last Updated: December, 2024

The State of Georgia, through the rules established by the Georgia Department of Education, has strict regulations on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. Below is a summary of Rule 160-5-1-.35, describing how these rules are meant to be applied as well as information on how Safety-Care can be utilized to improve the safety of students, staff and other parties.

Student safety and minimal intervention are at the core of the rules. Chemical, mechanical, prone restraints, and seclusion are entirely prohibited. Definitions of each term are listed as 

• Chemical Restraint: Medication used to control behavior or restrict movement, not prescribed for medical or psychiatric treatment.
• Mechanical Restraint: Devices or materials attached to a student's body to limit movement, unless prescribed for medical reasons.
• Prone Restraint: Holding a student face down with physical pressure. This is strictly prohibited in all Georgia schools.
• Seclusion: Isolating a student in a confined space to prevent harm to self or others. This practice is prohibited unless a staff member trained in de-escalation is physically present with the student in an unlocked room.
• Time-Out: Removing a student from a learning activity temporarily without confinement. Unlike seclusion, time-out is allowed as a behavioral intervention.

Physical restraint is allowed only when the student poses an immediate danger, and less intensive interventions have not worked. Physical restraint cannot be used as punishment, if unsafe, or if contraindicated due to a student's medical or psychological condition. Such restraint must end when the student is no longer a danger or shows signs of severe distress. Physical restraint does not include limited contact with students for the purposes of safety, skill training, guidance, or offering comfort. Prone restraints are specifically banned.

Schools using physical restraint must have written policies on its use and parental notifications. Policies must cover staff training on restraint and de-escalation, parental notification within one school day when restraint is used, and requirements on observing, monitoring, documenting, and periodically reviewing restraint use.

Schools must train staff in physical restraint, prevention, and de-escalation, maintaining documentation of training sessions and participant lists, which are to be up for review upon request. Policy must not interfere with classroom management techniques like time-outs or disciplinary actions that do not involve confinement. Time-Out is defined as removing a student from a learning activity temporarily without the use of confinement. Nothing in policy prevents staff from intervening in fights or emergencies and staff may use their judgment to protect students or others from harm without fear of policy violation. Finally, schools must notify parents when law enforcement or emergency medical services are involved due to student behavior.

How Safety-Care aligns: Numerous organizations throughout the United States and Canada rely upon QBS and our Safety-Care training to provide their staff members with the training they need to help maintain a safe and healthy environment. Safety-Care provides a comprehensive, supportive approach to incident prevention, de-escalation, and management. Your Staff will learn practical strategies for helping students that use evidence-based practices consistent with PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) and ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis).

Safety-Care can meet the requirements of Departmental Requirements in the following ways:

Safety-Care is uniquely designed to provide trainees with the skills to assess potential crises, how de-escalate these situations, and how to respond if the situation is elevated. Our trainings are trauma-informed and focus on modifying behavior to prevent dangerous outcomes. Safety-Care can be taught to all levels of personnel, from administration down to volunteers. Additionally, our core trainings can be supplemented with unique add-on trainings focused on specific needs and professions. Safety-Care uses a Train the Trainer model allowing each district to quickly develop their own core of trainers qualified in the most current behavioral interventions and de-escalation strategies. Our Master Trainers can have up to ten (10) staff ready to train in as little as three days. Safety-Care is geared towards ensuring that all trainees are familiar with a single response system and can respond in-kind to numerous situations regardless of the professional setting.