§ 6-18-2403 — Definitions

As used in this subchapter: (1) (A) "Aversive behavioral intervention" means a physical or sensory intervention program that is intended to modify behavior through the use of a substance or stimulus that the intervention implementer knows will cause physical trauma, emotional trauma, or both, to a student, even when the substance or stimulus appears to be pleasant or neutral to others. (B) "Aversive behavioral intervention" includes without limitation the following: (i) Hitting; (ii) Pinching; (iii) Slapping; (iv) Using a water spray; (v) Using noxious fumes; (vi) Requiring extreme physical exercise; (vii) Using loud auditory stimulus; (viii) Withholding meals; and (ix) Denying reasonable access to toileting facilities; (2) "Behavioral intervention" means the implementation of a service, support, or strategy to teach and increase appropriate behavior or substantially decrease or eliminate behavior that is dangerous, inappropriate, or otherwise impedes the learning of a student; (3) "Behavior intervention plan" means a written plan that: (A) Is developed by a problem-solving and intervention team and delineates emotional, social, or behavioral goals for a student and the steps that the school, student, parent of the student, and others will take to positively support the progress of the student towards his or her emotional, social, or behavioral goals; (B) Is comprised of practical and specific strategies to increase or reduce a defined behavior or one (1) or more patterns of behavior exhibited by a student; and (C) Includes the following: (i) A definition or description of the desired target behavior or outcome in specific measurable terms; (ii) A plan for preventing and eliminating inappropriate student behavior by changing a condition that is triggering, motivating, underlying, or supporting that behavior as determined through a functional behavior assessment; (iii) A plan for teaching a student to demonstrate appropriate social, emotional, or behavioral self-management, or a new method to address or meet his or her needs; (iv) A description of how a specific incentive or consequence will be used as needed to decrease or eliminate inappropriate student behavior and increase appropriate behavior; (v) A plan for managing a crisis situation; (vi) A system to collect, analyze, and evaluate data about the student; (vii) The school personnel, resources, and training needed before implementation of the behavior intervention plan; and (viii) The timeline for implementing different facets of an intervention, including without limitation when the intervention will be formally reviewed; (4) (A) "Chemical restraint" means the use of a drug or medication to control the behavior of a student or restrict the free movement of the student. (B) "Chemical restraint" does not include the use of medication that is: (i) Prescribed by a licensed physician, or other qualified health professional acting within the scope of his or her professional authority under state law, for the standard treatment of a medical or psychiatric condition of a student; and (ii) Administered as prescribed by the licensed physician or other qualified health professional acting within the scope of his or her professional authority under state law; (5) "Consequence" means an event that occurs immediately after a behavior, behavioral response, or a planned action in response to an inappropriate student behavior and with the purpose of motivating the student to demonstrate an appropriate behavior the next time; (6) "Crisis" means a situation in which a student engages in a behavior that threatens the health and safety of the student or others and includes without limitation a situation in which the student becomes aggressive or violent at school and is unable to regain self-control without posing a danger of injury to himself or herself or others; (7) "Crisis intervention" means the implementation of a service, support, or strategy to: (A) Immediately stabilize a crisis; and (B) Prevent the crisis from reoccurring after the crisis ends; (8) "Crisis Intervention Training Program" means a program that: (A) Provides training using effective evidence-based practices in: (i) The prevention of the use of physical restraint on a student; (ii) Keeping school personnel and students safe when using physical restraint on a student in accordance with the law; (iii) The use of data-based decision-making, evidence-based positive behavioral intervention and support, safe physical escort, conflict prevention, behavioral antecedents, a functional behavior assessment, challenging behavior de-escalation, and conflict management; and (iv) First aid, including without limitation recognizing the signs of medical distress and administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and (B) Requires certification, including without limitation periodic renewal of certification in the practices and skills necessary for school personnel to properly implement the Crisis Intervention Training Program; (9) (A) "Dangerous behavior" means the behavior of a student that presents an imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or others. (B) "Dangerous behavior" does not include the following types of inappropriate behavior: (i) Disrespect; (ii) Noncompliance; (iii) Insubordination; or (iv) Destruction of property that does not create an imminent danger; (10) "Day" means a calendar day unless otherwise indicated as a school day; (11) "De-escalation" means the use of a behavior management technique that helps a student increase his or her control over his or her emotions and behavior and results in a reduction of a present or potential level of danger that in turn reduces the level of imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or others; (12) "Emergency" means a serious and unexpected situation that requires immediate action and which may be dangerous; (13) "Functional behavior assessment" means a problem analysis step that: (A) Occurs within the context of data-based problem-solving and involves: (i) The review of existing records and other sources of information; (ii) Diagnostic or historical interviews; (iii) Structured academic or behavioral observations; and (iv) Authentic, criterion-referenced, or norm-referenced tests; and (B) Is performed with the goal of determining why a specific problem or situation is occurring in order to directly link a strategic intervention to an assessment and solve or resolve the specific problem or situation; (14) "Imminent danger" means an existing dangerous situation that could reasonably be expected to immediately cause death or serious physical harm; (15) "Incident" means an event or occurrence; (16) "Individualized Education Program" means a written plan for a student with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations; (17) (A) "Mechanical restraint" means the use of a device or equipment to restrict the free movement of a student. (B) "Mechanical restraint" does not include a: (i) Device that is used by trained school personnel or a student for a specific and approved therapeutic purpose or safety purpose for which the device was designed or prescribed; or (ii) Vehicle safety restraint that is appropriately used in the manner for which it was designed during the transport of a student in a moving vehicle; (18) (A) "Member of school personnel" means a person who works with a student in an elementary or secondary public school, public charter school, school district, education service cooperative, and includes without limitation a: (i) School or school district administrator; (ii) Teacher; (iii) Coach for a school athletics program; (iv) School counselor; (v) School social worker; (vi) School psychologist; (vii) School nurse; and (viii) Paraprofessional. (B) "Member of school personnel" does not include a person who is: (i) A volunteer at a school district; or (ii) Not an employee of a school district; (19) "Parent" means one (1) of the following: (A) The biological, foster, or adoptive parent of a student; (B) The guardian of a student who is: (i) Not acting in his or her official capacity as an employee or other representative of the state; and (ii) Authorized to act as the parent of the student or to make educational decisions for the student; (C) A person who: (i) Lives with a student and is acting in the place of a biological or adoptive parent of the student, including without limitation a grandparent or stepparent, or other relative of the student; or (ii) Is legally responsible for the welfare of the student; or (D) A surrogate parent of a student who has been appointed in accordance with 30 C.F.R. § 300.519 ; (20) "Physical escort" means a temporary touching or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back of a student for the purpose of redirecting or inducing the student to move to a safe location; (21) (A) "Physical restraint" means a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arm, leg, or head freely. (B) "Physical restraint" does not include a physical escort; (22) "Positive behavioral support" means the application of behavior analysis that: (A) Is used to achieve socially important behavior change; (B) Occurs at the: (i) Prevention level for all students in a school; (ii) Strategic intervention level for a student who is not responding, from a social-emotional and behavioral perspective, to the prevention level; and (iii) Intensive service or crisis-management level for a student who needs multifaceted or comprehensive behavioral or mental health services; and (C) Involves a planned and collaborative school-wide approach that is implemented with a goal: (i) Of establishing a positive and supportive school environment that: (a) Teaches and reinforces prosocial behavior in a student; (b) Holds a student positively accountable for meeting an established behavioral expectation; and (c) Maintains a level of consistency throughout the implementation process; and (ii) That is accomplished by using positive behavioral programs, strategies, or approaches; (23) "Prone restraint" means restraining a student in a face-down position on the floor or another surface and applying physical pressure to the body of the student to keep the student in the prone position; (24) "Punishment" means an action that: (A) May follow an inappropriate behavior of a student; (B) Is taken with the goal of decreasing, stopping, or eliminating the future reoccurrence of the inappropriate behavior of the student; and (C) Is not taken with the goal of replacing the inappropriate behavior of the student with future appropriate behavior by the student; (25) "School day" means any day, including without limitation a partial day, that a student is in attendance at school for instructional purposes; (26) "Serious physical harm" means bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; (27) "Student" means a person who is legally enrolled in a school district in Arkansas and receives services in Arkansas under § 619 or Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.; (28) "Student with a disability" means a student who is: (A) Evaluated in accordance with 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.304 - 300.311 and Section 6 of Special Education and Related Services: Procedural Requirements and Program Standards (ADE 2000) of the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education as having one (1) or more of the following: (i) A cognitive or developmental disability; (ii) A hearing impairment, including without limitation deafness; (iii) A speech or language impairment; (iv) A visual impairment, including without limitation blindness; (v) Serious emotional disturbance; (vi) Orthopedic impairment; (vii) Autism; (viii) Traumatic brain injury; (ix) A health impairment; (x) A specific learning disability; or (xi) Deaf-blindness; and (B) By reason of his or her evaluation in accordance with 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.304 - 300.311 and Section 6 of the Special Education and Related Services: Procedural Requirements and Program Standards (ADE 2000) from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is in need of special education and related services; and (29) "Supine restraint" means the restraint of a student in a face-up position on his or her back on the floor or another surface and with physical pressure applied to the body of the student to keep the student in the supine position.

Legislative History

Added by Act 2021, No. 1084,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.