5144.2 - Use of Exclusionary time out settings

5144.2

Use of Exclusionary Time Out Settings

Students

The Board of Education (Board) acknowledges that behavior management practices for students may sometimes include the use of exclusionary time out settings. A time out setting is an area for a student to safely deescalate, self-regulate, self-calm, regain control and prepare to meet expectations to return to his/her educational program. A time out setting shall only be used in conjunction with a behavior management program which teaches and reinforces acceptable behaviors, except where it is necessary to remove a student from a potentially dangerous situation or an unanticipated situation.

Definitions

Exclusionary time out means a temporary, continuously monitored separation of a student from an ongoing activity in a non-locked setting, for the purpose of calming such student or deescalating such student's behavior.

Seclusion means the involuntary confinement of a student in a room, physically prevented from leaving. Seclusion does not include an exclusionary time out.

Physical restraint means any mechanical or personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the free movement of a person's arms, legs or head, including, but not limited to, carrying or forcibly moving a person from one location to another. Excluded from this definition is briefly holding a person in order to calm or comfort the person; restraint involving the minimum contact necessary to safely escort a person from one area to another; medical devices including but not limited to, supports prescribed by a health care provider to achieve proper body position or balance; helmets or other protective gear used to protect a person from injuries due to a fall; helmets, mitts and similar devices used to prevent self-injury when the device is part of a documented treatment plan or individualized education program pursuant to Connecticut's special education laws or prescribed or recommended by a medical professional and is the least restrictive means to prevent such self-injury or an exclusionary timeout.

Types of Time Out

A time-out is a behavioral support strategy in which a student temporarily separates from the learning activity or classroom, either by choice or by staff direction for the purpose of calming.

There are two kinds of time-out:

• Inclusionary - when a student is removed from positive reinforcement or full participation in the class while remaining in the class. The use of inclusionary time-out functions as a behavior support strategy while allowing the student to remain fully aware of the learning activities in the classroom.

• Exclusionary - when a student is separated from the rest of the class through complete visual separation or actual physical separation.

Time-out is used for calming an agitated student. Time-out is not used for punishment or discipline.

If a time out setting/space is to be used, it must be used as a behavioral intervention strategy that is designed to teach and reinforce alternative appropriate behaviors in which a student is removed to a supervised area or room in order to facilitate self-control or when it is necessary to remove a student from a potentially dangerous situation and for unanticipated situations that pose an immediate concern for the physical safety of a student or others.

The Board has adopted and implemented the following policy and procedures governing school use of time out settings/spaces as part of its behavior management approach consistent with P.A. 18-51.

At a minimum, the use of exclusionary time out settings/spaces shall be governed by the following rules and standards:

1. The Board prohibits placing a student in a locked room or space or in a setting where the student cannot be continuously observed and supervised. The time out space shall be unlocked and the door must be able to be opened from the inside. The use of locked rooms or spaces for purposes of time out or emergency interventions is prohibited.

Staff shall continuously monitor the student in a time out setting. The staff must be able to see and hear
the student at all times. At least one school employee must remain with the student or be immediately available to the student so that the student and the staff member can communicate verbally throughout the time out.

Under no circumstances shall a time out setting/space in a school program be used for seclusion of the student, where the term "seclusion" is interpreted to mean placing a student in a locked room or space or in a room where the student is not continuously observed and supervised.

2. Factors which may precipitate the use of the time out setting/space:

a. Student fails to respond to less severe interventions (behavior that cannot be controlled through interventions short of isolation in the designated time out space or room)

b. Behavior that is severely disruptive

c. Dangerous behavior that presents a risk of injury or harm to that student or to others

d. Behavior that is dangerous or presents a risk of significant property damage.

The designated time out setting/space shall not be used for punitive purposes, for staff convenience or to control minor misbehavior.

3. Time limitations for the use of the time out setting/space:

A student should remain in the designated time out setting/space only for the time necessary for the student to compose him/herself sufficiently to return to the classroom with minimal risk that the behavior will quickly
reoccur, in the opinion of school staff monitoring the intervention. The time should normally not exceed 30 minutes. (A suggested time-legislation does not specify time limits)

School staff shall not keep a student in the designated time out setting/space for more than one hour. If the student continues to present dangerous behaviors after this period of time, the placement in that space may be continued only with written authorization of the building Principal or designee. In that event, the student's parent/guardian should also be called for the purpose of taking the student home for the remainder of that school day.

If, at any point during the student's stay in the designated time out space, the building Principal or his/her
designee believes that the student cannot be maintained safely even in that setting, the building Principal/designee shall call the student's parent/guardian to come pick up the student, and may also call other emergency personnel for the purpose of taking custody of the student and ensuring the student's safety.

Further, a student's IEP shall specify when a behavioral intervention plan includes the use of a time out setting for a student with a disability, including the maximum amount of time a student will need to be in a time out setting as a behavioral consequence as determined on an individual basis in consideration of the student's age and individual needs. School administration or other personnel shall be notified in the event a student is placed in a time out setting for excessive amounts of time; and such information shall be considered when determining the effectiveness of the student's behavioral intervention plan and the use of the time out setting for the student. Whether the student requires a debriefing following the use of a time out setting shall be left to the staff knowledgeable about the individual student.

When it is decided through the program planning process to use a time out setting as a behavioral intervention, it should be clearly articulated in the planning what will be done if the student refuses to comply with the request to move to a time out setting or if the use of this strategy is not successful in managing the student's behavior. Should staff be required to physically remove the student to the time out setting, it is important that non-violent crisis techniques be used. Consideration must be given to the procedures pertaining to use of physical restraint and/or seclusion as defined in policy 5144.1.

4.  Staff training on the policies and procedures related to the use of time out setting/space shall include, but not
   be limited to, the following measures:

a. The Director of Special Education shall be responsible to the Superintendent for establishing administrative practices and procedures for training all District personnel responsible for use of time out.

b. Specific Training Activities and Programs:

Staff members working with students who have the use of the time out space will:

• Receive full training in the policy and procedures for the use of a time out setting.

• Participate in work sessions to review each student's Behavior Intervention Plan and receive specific instruction in the implementation of the plan. The work sessions will include teachers, teaching assistants, monitors, building administrators and the Director of Pupil Personnel Services.

5. Data collection to monitor the effectiveness of the use of time out settings/spaces:

The District shall establish and implement procedures to document the use of time out space, including information to monitor the effectiveness of the use of the time out space to decrease specified behaviors. Such data may be subject to review by the State Education Department (SED) upon request.

Such data collection should appropriately include, but is not limited to, the following information:

a. A record for each student showing the date and time of each use of the time out setting;

b. A detailed account of the antecedent conditions/specific behavior that led to the use of the time out setting;

c. The amount of time that the student was in the time out setting; and

d. Information to monitor the effectiveness of the use of the time out setting to decrease specified behaviors which resulted in the student being placed in the setting.

6. Information to be provided to parents:

The School District shall inform the student's parents prior to the initiation of a behavioral intervention plan that will incorporate the use of a time out setting for a student, and shall give the parent the opportunity to see the physical space that will be used as a time out setting and provide the parent with a copy of the school's policy on the use of time out settings/spaces. 

Additionally, parents should be notified if their child was placed in a time out setting. Minimally, whenever a time out setting is used as an emergency intervention the parent shall be notified of the emergency intervention. Such notification will be provided the same day whenever possible. The use of a time out setting must be included on the student's IEP.

Parent reports of alleged inappropriate interventions used in a time out setting should be directed to school administrators.

Physical Space Used as a Time Out Setting/Space

The physical space used as a time out setting must meet certain standards:

a. The area shall provide a means for continuous visual and auditory monitoring of the student. (Staff assigned to  monitor the time out area must be able to see and hear the student at all times and be able to communicate verbally with the student throughout the time out.)

b. The space or setting used for an exclusionary time out must be appropriate for calming or deescalating the
student's behavior. 

c. The area shall be of adequate width, length and height to allow the student to move about and recline
comfortably.

d. Wall and floor coverings should be designed to prevent injury to the student, and there shall be adequate
lighting and ventilation.

e. The temperature of the area shall be within the normal comfort range and consistent with the rest of the
building.

f. The area shall be clean and free of objects and fixtures that could be potentially dangerous to a student and shall meet all local fire and safety codes.

g. The setting must be unlocked and the door must be able to be opened from the inside at all times. The use of locked rooms or spaces for the purpose of time out is strictly prohibited.

(cf. 4148/4248 - Employee Protection)

(cf. 5141.23 - Students with Special Health Care Needs)

(cf. 5144.1 - Physical Restraint/Seclusion/Exclusionary Time Out)

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

10-76b State supervision of special education programs and services.

10-76d Duties and powers of boards of education to provide special education programs and services.

10-236b Physical restraint and seclusion of students by school employees. (as amended by PA 17-220 and PA 18-51)

46a-150 Definitions. (as amended by PA 07-147 and PA 15-141)

46a-152 Physical restraint, seclusion and use of psychopharmacologic agents restricted. Monitoring and documentation required.

46a-153 Recording of use of restraint and seclusion required. Review of records by state agencies. Reviewing state agency to report serious injury or death to Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and to Office of Child Advocate. (as amended by PA 12-88)

53a-18 Use of reasonable physical force or deadly physical force generally.

53a-19 Use of physical force in defense of person

53a-20 Use of physical force in defense of premises.

53a-21 Use of physical force in defense of property.

PA 15-141 An Act Concerning Seclusion and Restraint in Schools.

State Board of Education Regulations Sections 10-76b-5 through 10-76b-11.

Policy Adopted: March 25, 2024