Gone are the days when teachers showed students their “paddle” in the beginning of the year as a classroom management tool to deter student mischief. At least I remember those days in elementary school here in Clark County. Nowadays, Nevada law prohibits teachers from using corporal punishment as a means of discipline or for classroom management. Pupils with disabilities are given more protections than pupils without disabilities.

“Corporal punishment” is defined as the intentional infliction of physical pain upon or the physical restraint of a pupil for disciplinary purposes (NRS 392.4633). Corporal punishment, however, does not include the use of reasonable and necessary force to: a) quell a disturbance that threatens physical injury to any person or the destruction of property; b) to obtain possession of a weapon or other dangerous object within a pupil’s control; c) for the purpose of self-defense or the defense of another person; or d) to escort a disruptive pupil who refuses to go voluntarily with authorities. The Clark County School District (“District”) regulations and policies have adopted the language contained in the Nevada Revised Statutes. Thus, a teacher may have to use force or physical restraint against a student without it being considered corporal punishment.

Students with disabilities have additional protections. Nevada law recognizes that “aversive interventions” may not be used on students with disabilities to punish them or attempt to eliminate, reduce or discourage their maladaptive behavior. “Aversive intervention” is defined as:

1. The use of noxious odors or tastes;
2. The use of water and other mists or sprays;
3. The use of blasts of air;
4. The use of corporal punishment;
5. The use of verbal and mental abuse;
6. The use of electric shock;
7. The administration of chemical restraint to a person;
8. The placement of a person alone in a room where release from the room is prohibited by a mechanism, including but not limited to a lock, device, or object positioned to hold the door closed or otherwise prevent the person from leaving the room;
9. Requiring a person to perform exercise under forced conditions if the:
   1. Person is required to perform the exercise because he exhibited a behavior that is related to his disability;
   2. Exercise is harmful to the health of the person because of his disability; or
   3. Nature of the person’s disability prevents him from engaging in the exercise; or
10. The deprivation of necessities needed to sustain the health of a person, regardless of the length of the deprivation, including without limitation, the denial or unreasonable delay in the provision of:
    1. Food or liquid at a time when it is customarily served; or
    2. Medication.

NRS 388.5215. As is noted above, aversive intervention is specifically defined and encompasses many areas.

The law further provides that physical restraint on students with disabilities is prohibited unless an emergency exists that necessitates the use of the physical restraint, the physical restraint is used only for the period necessary to contain the behavior of the pupil so that the pupil is no longer an immediate threat of causing physical injury to himself or others or causing severe property damage, and the use of force does not exceed the force that is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances. Physical restraint may be used on a pupil with disabilities if it is used to assist the pupil in completing a task or response if the pupil does not resist or if the resistance is minimal in intensity and duration; to escort the pupil to safety; and to conduct medical examinations or treatments on the pupil that are necessary. Significantly, if physical restraint is used on a pupil with a disability, the use of the procedure must be reported in the pupil’s cumulative record and a confidential file no later than 1 day after the restraint was used. A copy of the report must be given to the parents.

Mechanical restraints on pupils with disabilities are also prohibited unless the restraint was used to treat the medical needs of the pupil; protect the pupil who is known to be at risk of injury to self due to lack of coordination or frequent loss of consciousness; provide proper body alignment; or position a student who has physical disabilities in a manner prescribed in the pupil’s IEP.

In an emergency situation, mechanical restraint may be used but all of the following criteria must be met: the restraint must have been used only due to immediate threat of physical injury to self, others and/or to protect against immediate threat of severe property damage; a medical order authorizing the mechanical restraint was obtained from pupil’s treating physician prior to or not later than 15 minutes after the application of the mechanical restraint; the physician who signed the order or the attending physician examined the student as soon as practicable; it was applied by a member of the staff of the school who is trained and qualified; the pupil was given opportunity to move and exercise restrained body parts at least 10 minutes for every 60 minutes unless otherwise prescribed by physician; District employee lessened or discontinued the restraint every 15 minutes to determine if student would stop or control inappropriate behavior; pupil was continuously monitored; and the restraint was only used for the period necessary to contain the behavior. Use of mechanical restraint on pupils with disabilities required reporting no later than 1 day after the restraint was used.

The District has form CCF-624 Notice of Physical Restraint, Mechanical Restraint, or Aversive Intervention which is applicable to above-mentioned scenarios. If a teacher uses physical restraint, mechanical restraint, or aversive intervention on a pupil with disabilities in emergency situations, CCF-624 must be filled out no later than 1 day after the incident. Teachers have been disciplined for not timely reporting. Significantly, not all uses of physical and mechanical restraint require reporting, i.e. physical restraint to assist a student to complete a task and the student did not resist would not require reporting. When in doubt, report the scenario to your supervisor so that there is no question that you thought about reporting and sought guidance. Obviously, aversive intervention, physical and mechanical restraint should not be used on pupils without disabilities, but if they are, there are no statutory reporting requirements.