Summary: 

Effective: January 20, 2021 

Last Updated: December, 2024

In January of 2021, the State of Iowa adopted new administrative rules regarding the use of restraint and seclusion in school settings. Safety-Care can be used as a vital part of staff training to help meet the needs of districts and students in meeting these guidelines. Below is a summary of the administrative rules.

How Safety-Care aligns: Numerous education 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: 

IA ADC 281-103.3(256B,280) Ban on corporal punishment and prone and mechanical restraints. An employee shall not inflict, or cause to be inflicted, corporal punishment upon a student or use prone restraints or mechanical restraints upon a student.  

IA ADC 281-103.7(256B,280) Reasonable and necessary force-use of physical restraint or seclusion. 103.7(1) Physical restraint or seclusion is reasonable and necessary only:  

a. To prevent or terminate an imminent threat of bodily injury to the student or others; or  
b. To prevent serious damage to property of significant monetary value or significant nonmonetary value or importance; or  
c. When the student’s actions seriously disrupt the learning environment or when physical restraint or seclusion is necessary to ensure the safety of the student and others; and  
d. When less restrictive alternatives to seclusion or physical restraint would not be effective, would not be feasible under the circumstances, or have failed in preventing or terminating the imminent threat or behavior; and  
e. When the physical restraint or seclusion complies with all the rules of this chapter.  

How Safety-Care aligns: This staircase is used to describe how an individual can move up and down from a state of calm to a state of crisis, where violence is possible.  As part of the discussion on the staircase, behavioral predictors are reviewed. Safety-Care strategies can then be used to move an individual down the staircase back to a state of calm. Safety-Care certified individuals are trained to use our Help, Prompt, and Wait strategies as early intervention procedures that effectively de-escalate potential crisis situations before any physical management is necessary.  Safety-Care is also based on Applied Behavior Analysis practices and regularly updated with the most current research. This ensures that your staff is fully trained in in a system that is focused on de-escalation and is fully trauma-informed. 

103.7(2) If seclusion or physical restraint is utilized, the following provisions shall apply:  

c. The seclusion or physical restraint must only be used for as long as is necessary, based on research and evidence, to allow the student to regain control of the student’s behavior to the point that the threat or behavior necessitating the use of the seclusion or physical restraint has ended, or when a medical condition occurs that puts the student at risk of harm.  

g. If an employee restrains a student who uses sign language or an augmentative mode of communication as the student’s primary mode of communication, the student shall be permitted to have the student’s hands free of physical restraint, unless doing so is not feasible in view of the threat posed.

h. Seclusion or physical restraint shall not be used:

• • As punishment or discipline;
  • To force compliance or to retaliate;
  • As a substitute for appropriate educational or behavioral support;
  • To prevent property damage except as described in paragraph 103.7(1)”b”;
  • As a routine school safety measure; or
  • As a convenience to staff.

103.8(3) Debriefing.  

a. Schools must hold a debriefing meeting within five school days of the day the report and letter are mailed or provided to the parent.  

How Safety-Care aligns: Safety-Care can be a vital part of any developed workplace violence prevention plan. 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 is focused on encouraging positive behavior prior to the use of any other intervention strategy. Our approach stems from the use of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) that can prevent and manage challenge behavior. Safety-Care requires that all trainees comply with local laws and regulations regarding reporting and debriefing. Additionally, Safety-Care’s Trainer Connect program can be used to assist in documenting interactions where Safety-Care has been utilized.