Restraint and Seclusion Data
Governor Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1466 on October 8, 2023. This law seeks to increase transparency by allowing members of the public easy access to information relevant to the control of student behavior in school environments. Effective immediately, all local educational agencies (LEAs) will be required to post on their websites the same data related to restraint and seclusion that they are currently required to share with the California Department of Education (CDE).
What Does AB 1466 Add to Existing Law?
Existing law limits the use of restraint and seclusion by school personnel. It also requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to annually collect data and report to the CDE specific information about the use of behavioral restraints and seclusion in schools. California Education Code section 49006 requires that no later than three months after the end of a school year, LEAs must submit a report to CDE that includes:
- The number of students subjected to mechanical restraint;
- The number of students subjected to physical restraint;
- The number of students subjected to seclusion;
- The number of times mechanical restraint was used on students;
- The number of times physical restraint was used on students; and
- The number of times seclusion was used on students.
This information must be separated by race or ethnicity and gender, with separate counts for students with Section 504 plans and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and those without such plans.
AB 1466 amends section 49006(c) to now require that LEAs also annually post the data collected and reported to CDE, on their individual internet websites. LEAs remain obligated to make the data collected and reported available as a public record.