Protect Students from Restraint & Seclusion Act

Added a new definition for 'physical restraint' that specifies it means using physical force to limit a student's voluntary freedom of movement for more than one minute.

Added a requirement that physical restraint must be agreed to by the student's IEP team or Section 504 team and used in accordance with the student's IEP or Section 504 plan.

Updated the versioning header from 'Rerevised' to 'Revised' and changed the reading status from '3rd Reading Unamended' to 'Revised' to reflect amendments adopted on second reading.

Removed public schools from the general Protection of Individuals from Restraint and Seclusion Act and created a new specific act for public schools

Updated definitions of physical restraint, protective devices, and related terms to clarify their application in educational settings

Modified requirements for IEP team and Section 504 team agreements regarding use of restraint devices and protective measures

Changed time thresholds for physical restraint from 'more than one minute' to 'one minute or less' for certain protective interventions

Removed public schools from the general Protection of Individuals from Restraint and Seclusion Act and created a new, specific Protection of Students from Restraint and Seclusion Act.

Added requirements for local education providers to train employees and agents on restraint and seclusion procedures.

Added requirements for local education providers to document instances of restraint or seclusion and notify families of certain incidents.

Added specific exceptions for restraint use involving deadly weapons, armed security officers, school resource officers, and emergency situations.

Modified definitions of restraint types, including clarifying that holding an individual for less than one minute by an adult for protection is not considered restraint.

Additional co-sponsors were added to the House sponsorship list: Boesenecker, Froelich, Hamrick, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Lukens, McCluskie, and Phillips.

The bill summary text was updated to indicate it applies to the reengrossed version with a March 31, 2025 date stamp.

The definition of 'prone restraint' was removed from the definitions section, which previously defined it as a restraint where a student is secured face-down.

Public schools were removed from the general Protection of Individuals from Restraint and Seclusion Act and are now covered under a new, separate Protection of Students from Restraint and Seclusion Act.

The definition of 'Mechanical Restraint' was modified to explicitly exclude medical devices like asthma corticosteroids, mood disorder medication, insulin, glucagon, epinephrine, and diazepam when administered for voluntary or life-saving medical procedures.

The definition of 'Physical Restraint' was modified to exclude physical interventions lasting one minute or less for protection, holding a student for calming or comforting, minimal contact for escorting, and minimal contact for assisting with tasks.

The definition of 'Restraint' was modified to clarify that it includes seclusion, chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, and physical restraint, but excludes holding an individual for less than one minute for protection.

The bill summary and formatting were updated to reflect that this is the engrossed version with all amendments adopted on second reading in the House of Introduction.