Student restraint, isolation

AN ACT Relating to restraint or isolation of students in public 1
schools and educational programs; amending RCW 28A.600.485, 2
28A.600.486, 28A.155.210, 28A.320.127, 28A.413.050, 28A.415.445, and 3
28A.155.250; adding new sections to chapter 28A.600 RCW; adding new 4
sections to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 5
28A.410 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.310 RCW; creating 6
new sections; repealing RCW 28A.415.330; and providing expiration 7
dates. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:9
PURPOSE OF ACT10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The purposes of this act are to: Protect 11
students from physically harmful and emotionally traumatic practices 12
of chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, and isolation; prohibit 13
the use of physical restraint imposed solely for purposes of student 14
discipline or staff convenience; improve the safety and well-being of 15
all staff and students by increasing the training and technical 16
assistance provided to staff; and enhance the public accountability 17
of school districts and other providers of public educational 18
services.19
S-1139.1
SENATE BILL 5654
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators C. Wilson, Frame, Hasegawa, Nobles, Orwall, Trudeau, and
Wellman
Read first time 02/04/25. Referred to Committee on Early Learning &
K-12 Education.
p. 1 SB 5654
DEFINITIONS1
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 2
RCW to read as follows: 3
The definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 28A.600.485, 4
28A.600.486, 28A.155.210, and sections 4, 7 through 9, and 14 through 5
19 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.6
(1) "Behavioral intervention plan" means the individualized plan 7
developed for a student and implemented by staff for the purpose of 8
changing, replacing, modifying, or eliminating a student's behavior 9
or behaviors of concern. 10
(2) "Chemical restraint" means a drug or chemical administered by 11
staff to a student to control the student's behavior or restrict the 12
student's freedom of movement that is not: (a) Prescribed by a 13
licensed health professional acting within the scope of the practice 14
of that health profession for the standard treatment of a student's 15
medical or psychiatric condition; (b) administered by a licensed 16
health professional acting within the scope of the practice of that 17
health profession or administered by designated staff delegated and 18
trained by the licensed health professional under RCW 28A.210.260; or 19
(c) administered in accordance with the student's medical or 20
psychiatric treatment plan. 21
(3) "Educational service" means instruction and other activities 22
delivered or sponsored by a school district or other provider of 23
public educational services, for example: General education services; 24
special education services; medical services; safety and security 25
services; transportation services; and any developmental, corrective, 26
or other supportive services necessary for a student eligible for 27
special education services to benefit from special education 28
services. 29
(4) "Functional behavioral assessment" means the process or 30
evaluation used by staff to understand the cause or purpose of a 31
student's specific behavior or behaviors of concern in a specific 32
environment. 33
(5) "Imminent" means the state or condition of being likely to 34
occur at any moment or near at hand, rather than distant or remote.35
(6) "Intensive crisis prevention and response training" means a 36
training program approved by the office of the superintendent of 37
public instruction under section 14(4) of this act.38
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(7) "Isolation," also known as seclusion, means the involuntary 1
separation of a student from all other people, by staff, in a room or 2
other enclosed area from which the student is not free to leave. 3
"Isolation" does not include: (a) A time away, which is a student-4
selected behavior management technique that provides a student with 5
an opportunity for self-calming, where the student is separated from 6
others for a limited period, in a setting that is staff-monitored and 7
from which the student may leave at any time; (b) staff temporarily 8
confining a student alone in a classroom, office, or common area 9
because the student's behavior poses an imminent likelihood of 10
serious harm to the staff who had been in the room with the student, 11
provided the student's confinement ends as soon as it is practicable 12
for additional staff to intervene; or (c) a room clear.13
(8) "Likelihood of serious harm" means a substantial risk that:14
(a) Harm will be inflicted by the student upon his or her own 15
person, as evidenced by threats or attempts to commit suicide, or 16
inflict harm on oneself; or 17
(b) Harm will be inflicted by the student upon another, as 18
evidenced by behavior that places another person or persons in 19
reasonable fear of sustaining such harm. 20
(9) "Mechanical restraint" means staff use of a device to 21
restrict a student's freedom of movement. "Mechanical restraint" does 22
not include a device used by staff or a student: (a) As prescribed by 23
a licensed health professional acting within the scope of the 24
practice of that health profession; (b) as documented in a student's 25
individualized education program under Part B of the federal 26
individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 27
1400 et seq. or a student's plan developed under section 504 of the 28
rehabilitation act of 1973; or (c) for a specific therapeutic, 29
orthopedic, or medical purpose, when used for its designed purpose. 30
"Mechanical restraint" also does not include the use of vehicle 31
safety restraints when used as intended during the transport of a 32
student in a vehicle. 33
(10) "Physical escort" means the temporary touching or holding of 34
a student's hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, or back by staff for the 35
purpose of directing the student to a safe or otherwise appropriate 36
location. 37
(11) "Physical prompt" means a teaching technique used by staff 38
that involves voluntary physical contact with a student for the 39
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purpose of enabling the student to learn or model the physical 1
movement necessary for the development of a desired competency.2
(12) "Physical restraint" means physical contact by one or more 3
staff that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move 4
the student's arms, legs, torso, or head freely. "Physical restraint" 5
does not include chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, physical 6
escort, or physical prompt. 7
(13) "Provider of public educational services" means any entity 8
that directly operates, or provides educational services under 9
contract to, an elementary or secondary school program that receives 10
public funds from the office of the superintendent of public 11
instruction. "Provider of public educational services" includes a 12
school district, public school as defined in RCW 28A.150.010, an 13
educational service district, an institutional education provider as 14
defined in RCW 28A.190.005, a public agency or private entity 15
providing educational services under contract with any other provider 16
of public educational services, an authorized entity as defined in 17
RCW 28A.300.690, and any providers of services in accordance with 18
Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, 19
Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. In addition, "provider of public 20
educational services" includes the state school for the blind and the 21
center for deaf and hard of hearing youth established under RCW 22
72.40.010. 23
(14) "Restraint" includes chemical restraint, mechanical 24
restraint, and physical restraint. 25
(15) "Room clear" means the procedure used by staff in an 26
emergency to direct all students, except for any students causing the 27
emergency, to leave a room. 28
(16) "Staff" means an employee or contractor of a school district 29
or other provider of public educational services. "Staff" does not 30
include licensed or certified health professionals of inpatient 31
health care facilities. 32
(17) "Student behavior management" means the knowledge and skills 33
to: 34
(a) Implement proactive classroom management strategies that 35
create a positive and safe learning environment; 36
(b) Recognize the emotional or behavioral distress of students 37
and respond using evidence-based, trauma-informed behavioral health 38
supports that are age and developmentally appropriate, are 39
restorative, and consider any disabilities of the students;40
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(c) Understand and implement behavior management practices and 1
positive behavioral supports within a multitiered system of supports; 2
and 3
(d) Use evidence-based, trauma-informed, and student-centered 4
approaches for de-escalating aggressive student behaviors that 5
include problem solving and conflict resolution and are less 6
restrictive than isolation or restraint. 7
(18) "Students" means children and youth served by a school 8
district or other provider of public educational services.9
USE OF STUDENT ISOLATION AND RESTRAINT10
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.600.485 and 2015 c 206 s 3 are each amended to 11
read as follows: 12
(1) ((The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 13
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.14
(a) "Isolation" means restricting the student alone within a room 15
or any other form of enclosure, from which the student may not leave. 16
It does not include a student's voluntary use of a quiet space for 17
self-calming, or temporary removal of a student from his or her 18
regular instructional area to an unlocked area for purposes of 19
carrying out an appropriate positive behavior intervention plan.20
(b) "Restraint" means physical intervention or force used to 21
control a student, including the use of a restraint device to 22
restrict a student's freedom of movement. It does not include 23
appropriate use of a prescribed medical, orthopedic, or therapeutic 24
device when used as intended, such as to achieve proper body 25
position, balance, or alignment, or to permit a student to safely 26
participate in activities.27
(c) "Restraint device" means a device used to assist in 28
controlling a student, including but not limited to metal handcuffs, 29
plastic ties, ankle restraints, leather cuffs, other hospital-type 30
restraints, pepper spray, tasers, or batons. Restraint device does 31
not mean a seat harness used to safely transport students. This 32
section shall not be construed as encouraging the use of these 33
devices.34
(2) The provisions of this section apply to all students, 35
including those who have an individualized education program or plan 36
developed under section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973. The 37
provisions of this section apply only to incidents of restraint or 38
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isolation that occur while a student is participating in school-1
sponsored instruction or activities. 2
(3)(a) An individualized education program or plan developed 3
under section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973 must not include 4
the use of restraint or isolation as a planned behavior intervention 5
unless a student's individual needs require more specific advanced 6
educational planning and the student's parent or guardian agrees. All 7
other plans may refer to the district policy developed under 8
subsection (3)(b) of this section. Nothing in this section is 9
intended to limit the provision of a free appropriate public 10
education under Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities 11
education improvement act or section 504 of the federal 12
rehabilitation act of 1973.13
(b) Restraint or isolation of any student is permitted only when 14
reasonably necessary to control spontaneous behavior that poses an 15
imminent likelihood of serious harm, as defined in RCW 70.96B.010. 16
Restraint or isolation must be closely monitored to prevent harm to 17
the student, and must be discontinued as soon as the likelihood of 18
serious harm has dissipated. Each school district shall adopt a 19
policy providing for the least amount of restraint or isolation 20
appropriate to protect the safety of students and staff under such 21
circumstances.22
(4) Following the release of a student from the use of restraint 23
or isolation, the school must implement follow-up procedures. These 24
procedures must include: (a) Reviewing the incident with the student 25
and the parent or guardian to address the behavior that precipitated 26
the restraint or isolation and the appropriateness of the response; 27
and (b) reviewing the incident with the staff member who administered 28
the restraint or isolation to discuss whether proper procedures were 29
followed and what training or support the staff member needs to help 30
the student avoid similar incidents.31
(5) Any school employee, resource officer, or school security 32
officer who uses isolation or restraint on a student during school-33
sponsored instruction or activities must inform the building 34
administrator or building administrator's designee as soon as 35
possible, and within two business days submit a written report of the 36
incident to the district office. The written report must include, at 37
a minimum, the following information:38
(a) The date and time of the incident;39
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(b) The name and job title of the individual who administered the 1
restraint or isolation;2
(c) A description of the activity that led to the restraint or 3
isolation;4
(d) The type of restraint or isolation used on the student, 5
including the duration;6
(e) Whether the student or staff was physically injured during 7
the restraint or isolation incident and any medical care provided; 8
and9
(f) Any recommendations for changing the nature or amount of 10
resources available to the student and staff members in order to 11
avoid similar incidents.12
(6) The principal or principal's designee must make a reasonable 13
effort to verbally inform the student's parent or guardian within 14
twenty-four hours of the incident, and must send written notification 15
as soon as practical but postmarked no later than five business days 16
after the restraint or isolation occurred. If the school or school 17
district customarily provides the parent or guardian with school-18
related information in a language other than English, the written 19
report under this section must be provided to the parent or guardian 20
in that language.21
(7)(a) Beginning January 1, 2016, and by January 1st annually, 22
each school district shall summarize the written reports received 23
under subsection (5) of this section and submit the summaries to the 24
office of the superintendent of public instruction. For each school, 25
the school district shall include the number of individual incidents 26
of restraint and isolation, the number of students involved in the 27
incidents, the number of injuries to students and staff, and the 28
types of restraint or isolation used.29
(b) No later than ninety days after receipt, the office of the 30
superintendent of public instruction shall publish to its website the 31
data received by the districts. The office of the superintendent of 32
public instruction may use this data to investigate the training, 33
practices, and other efforts used by schools and districts to reduce 34
the use of restraint and isolation.))35
Application. This section applies during the provision of 36
educational services:37
(a) To all students, including those who have an individualized 38
education program or plan developed under section 504 of the 39
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rehabilitation act of 1973, of a school district or other provider of 1
public educational services; and 2
(b) To all staff of a school district or other provider of public 3
educational services, except for staff who are licensed or certified 4
health professionals of an inpatient health care facility.5
(2) Prohibited isolation and restraint. (a) The staff of any 6
school district or other provider of public educational services are 7
prohibited from using the following interventions on any student 8
during the provision of educational services:9
(i) Chemical restraint;10
(ii) Corporal punishment as prohibited by RCW 28A.150.300;11
(iii) Isolation or physical restraint that is contraindicated 12
based on the student's disability or health care needs or medical or 13
psychiatric condition as documented in:14
(A) An individual health plan or other health care management 15
plan;16
(B) A behavioral intervention plan;17
(C) An individualized education program under Part B of the 18
federal individuals with disabilities education act, Title 20 U.S.C. 19
Sec. 1400 et seq.; or20
(D) A plan developed under section 504 of the federal 21
rehabilitation act of 1973;22
(iv) Mechanical restraint;23
(v) Physical restraint or physical escort that is life-24
threatening, restricts breathing, or restricts blood flow to the 25
brain, including prone, supine, and wall restraints; and26
(vi) Noxious spray and other aversive intervention as prohibited 27
in rule of the office of the superintendent of public instruction.28
(b) Except as authorized under subsection (4)(b) of this section, 29
neither a student nor the student's parent or legal guardian may 30
consent, or be asked to consent, to the use of interventions that are 31
prohibited under this subsection (2).32
(3) Limited use of physical restraint. The staff of any school 33
district or other provider of public educational services may 34
physically restrain a student during the provision of educational 35
services only when:36
(a) The student's behavior poses an imminent likelihood of 37
serious harm to the student or to others;38
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(b) Less restrictive interventions would be ineffective in 1
stopping the imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or to 2
others;3
(c) The least amount of force necessary is used to protect the 4
student or another person from an imminent likelihood of serious harm 5
to the student or to others; and6
(d) The physical restraint of the student ends immediately upon 7
the cessation of the imminent likelihood of serious harm to the 8
student or to others.9
(4) Limited use of isolation. (a) Subject to the limitations in 10
(b) of this subsection (4), the staff of any school district or other 11
provider of public educational services may isolate a student during 12
the provision of educational services only when:13
(i) The student's behavior poses an imminent likelihood of 14
serious harm to the student or to others;15
(ii) Less restrictive interventions would be ineffective in 16
stopping the imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student or to 17
others;18
(iii) The least amount of force necessary is used to protect the 19
student or another person from an imminent likelihood of serious harm 20
to the student or to others;21
(iv) During isolation, the student is under the constant visual 22
supervision of the staff;23
(v) The isolation of the student ends immediately upon the 24
cessation of the imminent likelihood of serious harm to the student 25
or to others; and26
(vi) Beginning August 1, 2030, the staff isolating the student 27
has received intensive crisis prevention and response training.28
(b) Except as provided in (c) of this subsection (4), beginning 29
August 1, 2027, the staff of any school district or other provider of 30
public educational services are prohibited from isolating any student 31
in prekindergarten through grade five during the provision of 32
educational services, unless requested by the parent or legal 33
guardian of the student and unless authorized as follows:34
(i) Two licensed health professionals, each acting within their 35
respective scopes of practice, have recommended and provided 36
instructions for staff to isolate the student under specified 37
circumstances, including the conditions described in (a) of this 38
subsection (4). At least one of the licensed health professionals 39
must not be employed by or under contract with the school district or 40
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provider of public educational services serving the student. For the 1
purposes of this subsection (4)(b)(i), "licensed health professional" 2
means a licensed behavior analyst, mental health counselor, 3
osteopathic physician, physician, psychiatric nurse, psychiatric 4
nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, or psychologist; and5
(ii) The parent or legal guardian of the student provides 6
uncoerced, fully informed, advanced, written consent for the staff to 7
isolate the student as recommended under (b)(i) of this subsection 8
(4).9
(c)(i) Through July 31, 2031, or a later exemption expiration 10
date established by the office of the superintendent of public 11
instruction under section 19 of this act, the limitations of (b) of 12
this subsection (4) do not apply to any school district or other 13
providers of public educational services serving students in any of 14
grades prekindergarten through five that have claimed an exemption by 15
August 1, 2027, using the process established under section 19 of 16
this act. The purpose of the exemption is to delay the onset of the 17
prohibition on isolating prekindergarten through grade five students 18
until staff have received student behavior management training and 19
intensive crisis prevention and response training as described in the 20
staff training plan prepared under section 8 of this act.21
(ii) School districts and other providers of public educational 22
services that claimed an exemption shall: (A) Engage with the 23
technical assistance provided by the office of the superintendent of 24
public instruction; and (B) provide the training described in the 25
staff training plan prepared under section 8 of this act, as soon as 26
practicable.27
(5) Isolation rooms. (a) School districts and other providers of 28
public educational services are prohibited from designing new 29
construction or remodeling buildings to include a room or other 30
enclosed area solely for purposes of isolating a student in any 31
grade.32
(b) Beginning August 1, 2030, school districts and other 33
providers of public educational services are prohibited from 34
approving, equipping, or constructing a room or other enclosed area 35
solely for purposes of isolating a student in prekindergarten through 36
grade five, except to comply with subsection (4)(b) of this section.37
(c) The provisions of this subsection (5) do not apply to a 38
state-operated psychiatric hospital that serves students.39
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(6) School resource officers. Nothing in this section prohibits a 1
school resource officer as defined in RCW 28A.320.124 from carrying 2
out the lawful duties of a commissioned law enforcement officer.3
(7) Provision of free appropriate public education. Nothing in 4
this section is intended to limit the provision of a free appropriate 5
public education under Part B of the federal individuals with 6
disabilities education improvement act or section 504 of the federal 7
rehabilitation act of 1973.8
(8) Definitions. The definitions in section 2 of this act apply 9
to this section.10
INCIDENT FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURES11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 12
RCW to read as follows: 13
This section applies to incidents of student isolation or 14
restraint, whether prohibited or limited under RCW 28A.600.485, and 15
to incidents of a room clear. 16
(1) Notifications. (a) As soon as practicable following the 17
release of the student from isolation or restraint, and as soon as 18
practicable following the return of students from a room clear, the 19
staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation, restraint, or a 20
room clear shall notify the principal, other building administrator, 21
or designee, of the provider of public educational services about the 22
incident. 23
(b) The principal, other building administrator, or designee of 24
the provider of public educational services shall:25
(i) Notify the student's parent or legal guardian about the 26
incident, within 24 hours of the incident; and 27
(ii) Send written documentation, including the incident report 28
prepared under subsection (3)(a) of this section, to the parent or 29
legal guardian, within three business days of the incident, and, when 30
possible, send the written documentation to the parent or legal 31
guardian via email, on the same calendar day as the incident.32
(c) With regard to use of isolation or restraint that is 33
prohibited under RCW 28A.600.485(2), the principal, other building 34
administrator, or designee, of the provider of public educational 35
services shall notify the following people or entities about the 36
incident in accordance with the applicable deadlines:37
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(i) The school district superintendent or other chief 1
administrator of the provider of public educational services, within 2
one business day of the incident; 3
(ii) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, 4
within three business days of the incident; and 5
(iii) If the educational services are provided to the student who 6
was isolated or restrained under a contract, the other party to the 7
contract, within three business days of the incident.8
(2) Reviews. (a) As soon as practicable, but no later than one 9
week following submission of the incident report as required under 10
subsection (3) of this section, the principal, other building 11
administrator, or designee, of the provider of public educational 12
services shall review the incident with the student and the student's 13
parent or legal guardian to discuss relevant events that occurred 14
before, during, and after the incident, and to inform the student's 15
parent or legal guardian about behavioral intervention planning that 16
must be completed under subsection (4) of this section.17
(b) As soon as practicable, staff shall provide the student with 18
an opportunity to meet with a counselor, nurse, psychologist, or 19
social worker to reflect, process, and recover from the incident.20
(c)(i) As soon as practicable, a team of staff, including the 21
staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation, restraint, or a 22
room clear shall review the incident to, among other things:23
(A) Provide the staff who used, or directed the use of, 24
isolation, restraint, or a room clear with an opportunity to reflect 25
on, process, and recover from the incident; 26
(B) Determine whether proper procedures were followed; and27
(C) Identify additional training, coaching, or assistance that 28
may support staff who used, or directed the use of, isolation, 29
restraint, or a room clear, to use less restrictive interventions in 30
similar situations in the future. 31
(ii) To the extent practicable, pertinent information from the 32
incident review with the student and the student's parent or legal 33
guardian under (a) of this subsection (2) must be considered by the 34
incident review team. 35
(iii) Nothing in this subsection (2)(c) prevents an incident 36
review team from conducting multiple incident reviews in the same 37
review session. 38
(3) Reports. (a) For each student who was isolated, restrained, 39
or caused an emergency that resulted in a room clear, the principal, 40
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other building administrator, or designee shall work with the staff 1
who used, or directed the use of, isolation, restraint, or room clear 2
to prepare a single written daily incident report that describes all 3
incidents involving the student during the date for which the report 4
applies. The daily incident reports must be submitted to the school 5
district superintendent or other chief administrator of the provider 6
of public educational services, within two business days of the date 7
for which the report applies. At a minimum, the written report must 8
include: 9
(i) The date, time, duration, and location of the incident or 10
incidents; 11
(ii) Names and job titles of staff who used, or directed the use 12
of, isolation, restraint, or room clear and of staff who observed the 13
incident or incidents; 14
(iii) The type or description of restraint or isolation used per 15
incident, if applicable; 16
(iv) A description of relevant events that occurred before, 17
during, and after the incident or incidents, including any less 18
restrictive interventions attempted, including any de-escalation 19
attempts; 20
(v) Whether the student who was isolated, restrained, or caused 21
the emergency that resulted in a room clear has either an 22
individualized education program or a behavioral intervention plan 23
and, if so, whether the program or plan was followed for each 24
incident or incidents; 25
(vi) Information about any known physical injuries or 26
psychological trauma experienced by students or staff due to the 27
incident or incidents, including whether medical care was sought or 28
received, and whether staff requested or used leave benefits;29
(vii) Any recommendations to prevent similar, future incidents; 30
and 31
(viii) Other information as required by rule of the office of the 32
superintendent of public instruction. 33
(b) No less than monthly, the principal, other building 34
administrator or designee, shall submit to the school district 35
superintendent or other chief administrator of a provider of public 36
educational services a summary of the outcomes of the team incident 37
reviews under subsection (2)(c) of this section that describes any 38
changes to the nature and amount of resources and supports available 39
to students and staff needed to prevent similar, future incidents. 40
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For the prior month, or other relevant period, the summary must also 1
include the number of team incident reviews conducted under 2
subsection (2)(c) of this section and the number of daily incident 3
reports prepared under (a) of this subsection (3). A summary does not 4
have to be submitted in months that there are no incidents of student 5
isolation or restraint or room clears. 6
(c) The school district superintendent or other chief 7
administrator of a provider of public educational services shall 8
prepare a summary of the daily incident reports prepared under (a) of 9
this subsection (3), at least annually and as required by the school 10
district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of 11
public educational services. The summary must be disaggregated for 12
purposes of trend analyses, for example by the student categories and 13
subcategories provided under RCW 28A.300.042 (1) and (3), student 14
gender, students who are dependent pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW, 15
students who are homeless as defined in RCW 43.330.702, students who 16
are multilingual/English learners, status as a student with a parent 17
who is a member of the armed forces, by school or other applicable 18
unit, by staff job title, by contractor, and by incident type.19
(d) The school district superintendent or other chief 20
administrator of a provider of public educational services shall 21
submit incident report summaries prepared under (b) and (c) of this 22
subsection (3), at the time and in the manner required by the office 23
of the superintendent of public instruction. 24
(4) Behavioral intervention plan. (a) As soon as practicable 25
following the release of a student from isolation or restraint or the 26
return of students following a room clear, staff shall, for the 27
student who was isolated, restrained, or caused the emergency that 28
resulted in a room clear: 29
(i) Complete a functional behavioral assessment, unless a 30
functional behavioral assessment was previously completed for the 31
student's behavior of concern; and 32
(ii) Develop a behavioral intervention plan or, if a behavioral 33
intervention plan has already been developed, review the behavioral 34
intervention plan and modify it as necessary to address the student's 35
behavior of concern. When the student has an individualized education 36
program, the behavioral intervention plan must be developed and 37
modified in accordance with the student's individualized education 38
program. 39
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(b) Nothing in this subsection (4) limits behavioral intervention 1
planning for students with individualized education programs under 2
Part B of the federal individuals with disabilities education act, 3
Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. 4
(5) Definitions. The definitions in section 2 of this act apply 5
to this section. 6
POLICY AND PROCEDURES, AND TRAINING FOR SCHOOL BOARDS AND OTHER 7
GOVERNING BODIES8
Sec. 5. RCW 28A.600.486 and 2013 c 202 s 4 are each amended to 9
read as follows: 10
((Parents and guardians of children who have individualized 11
education programs or plans developed under section 504 of the 12
rehabilitation act of 1973 must be provided a copy of the district 13
policy on the use of isolation and restraint at the time that the 14
program or plan is created. )) (1)(a) The school district board of 15
directors or other governing body of a provider of public educational 16
services shall adopt a student isolation and restraint policy and 17
procedures that meets the requirements of this subsection. The 18
procedures must comply with the requirements in RCW 28A.600.485 and 19
section 4 of this act, and include a process for convening a team of 20
staff to review incidents of student isolation and restraint and room 21
clears using a systems improvement approach that focuses on 22
supporting staff to use less restrictive interventions as 23
alternatives to isolation and restraint.24
(b) By August 1, 2026, and periodically thereafter, the school 25
district board of directors or other governing body of a provider of 26
public educational services shall review and revise, as necessary, 27
its student isolation and restraint policy and procedures with input 28
from staff, students, students' families, advocacy organizations, and 29
other appropriate members of the community.30
(c) Parents and guardians of students who have individualized 31
education programs, plans developed under section 504 of the 32
rehabilitation act of 1973, or behavioral intervention plans 33
developed under section 4 (4) of this act must be provided a copy of 34
the policy and procedures adopted under this subsection (1) at the 35
time that the program or plan is created.36
(2) On an annual basis, the school district board of directors or 37
other governing body of a provider of public educational services 38
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shall monitor the impact of the policy and procedures adopted under 1
subsection (1) of this section by, at a minimum: (a) Performing trend 2
analyses using the incident report summaries prepared under section 3
4(3) of this act; and (b) reviewing the staff training plan and 4
updates prepared under section 8 of this act. 5
(3) If the policy and procedures adopted under subsection (1) of 6
this section includes staff isolation of students in any of grades 7
six through 12 under the conditions described in RCW 8
28A.600.485(4)(a), the school district board of directors or other 9
governing body of a provider of public educational services shall 10
annually submit the policy and procedures at the time and in the 11
manner required by the office of the superintendent of public 12
instruction.13
(4) Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, and every four years 14
thereafter, each member of a school district board of directors or 15
other governing body of a provider of public educational services 16
shall complete the training program on student isolation and 17
restraint provided at no cost as required under section 18 of this 18
act.19
(5) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 20
section.21
Sec. 6. RCW 28A.155.210 and 2023 c 436 s 7 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) Parents and legal guardians of students who have 24
individualized education programs must be provided a copy of the 25
policy and procedures adopted in accordance with RCW 28A.600.486.26
(2) A student's individualized education program must include 27
procedures for notification of , and incident review with, a parent or 28
legal guardian regarding the use of restraint or isolation under RCW 29
28A.600.485. If a student is placed in an authorized entity under RCW 30
28A.155.060, the student's individualized education program must also 31
specify any additional procedures required to ensure the authorized 32
entity fully complies with RCW 28A.600.485 and section 4 of this act.33
(3) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 34
section.35
STAFF TRAININGS36
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
(1) By January 1, 2026, the office of the superintendent of 3
public instruction shall develop and publish a model plan and 4
guidance for staff training on student behavior management and 5
intensive crisis prevention and response that school districts and 6
other providers of public educational services shall use when 7
developing the staff training plan required by section 8 of this act. 8
The model plan and guidance must be updated periodically to support 9
best practices identified through the demonstration projects under 10
section 13 of this act. 11
(2) The model plan and guidance required by subsection (1) of 12
this section must: 13
(a) Propose training content, duration, and frequency categories 14
by staff, program, activity, and duty codes for student behavior 15
management training and for intensive crisis prevention and response 16
training. Nothing in this subsection requires all staff to be trained 17
on intensive crisis prevention and response; 18
(b) Describe best practices for connecting staff training on 19
student behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and 20
response to existing systems designed to support student learning, 21
social-emotional well-being, and positive behavior in the classroom, 22
for example: (i) Instruction in social-emotional learning that is 23
consistent with learning standards and benchmarks adopted by the 24
office of the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 25
28A.300.478; (ii) use of inclusive teaching practices; and (iii) 26
implementation of the Washington integrated student supports 27
protocol, established under RCW 28A.300.139, within a multitiered 28
system of supports; 29
(c) Recommend options for compensating staff for training in 30
student behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and 31
response that include: (i) The professional learning days funded 32
under RCW 28A.150.415; (ii) other staff training days funded through 33
biennial or supplemental operating budgets; and (iii) federal funding 34
sources; 35
(d) Include mechanisms that can be used to verify that an entity 36
contracted to provide educational services is training its staff on 37
student behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and 38
response; and 39
p. 17 SB 5654
(e) Describe any resources of the office of the superintendent of 1
public instruction or the education service districts available to 2
support staff training on student behavior management and intensive 3
crisis prevention and response. 4
(3) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 5
section. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 7
RCW to read as follows: 8
(1)(a) By August 1, 2026, the school district superintendent or 9
other chief administrator of a provider of public educational 10
services, or the school district board of directors or other 11
governing body of a provider of public educational services, shall 12
prepare and submit to the office of the superintendent of public 13
instruction a plan and timeline for staff training on student 14
behavior management and intensive crisis management and response. The 15
goal of the plan must be to reduce overall staff use of student 16
isolation and restraint and to have highly trained staff available to 17
isolate or restrain students when appropriate and in the safest 18
possible manner. Nothing in this section requires all staff to be 19
trained on intensive crisis prevention and response.20
(b) By August 1, 2027, and by August 1st annually thereafter, an 21
update on the implementation of the staff training plan must be 22
submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction.23
(c) The model plan and guidance for staff training on student 24
behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and response 25
developed as required by section 7 of this act must be considered 26
prior to plan and update development under this subsection (1).27
(d) The plan and each update must be informed by the resource and 28
support needs identified in the incident report summaries prepared 29
under section 4(3) of this act. 30
(2) The plan and each update must: 31
(a) Describe the student behavior management and intensive crisis 32
prevention and response training that will be provided or made 33
available to staff during the following school year, with training 34
content, duration, and frequency differentiated by staff, program, 35
activity, and duty codes. When applicable, the plan update must 36
explain why the prior year's training was not provided or made 37
available as planned; 38
p. 18 SB 5654
(b) Specify the name of any intensive crisis prevention and 1
response training programs provided or made available to staff, by 2
staff, program, activity, and duty codes; 3
(c) Explain how staff who have received intensive crisis 4
prevention and response training are made available to prevent 5
isolation and restraint and to reduce the risk of imminent likelihood 6
of serious harm in the safest possible manner; and 7
(d) Describe the mechanism used to verify that any entity 8
contracted to provide educational services is training its staff as 9
required by this section. 10
(3) Training must be prioritized to staff in the following order:11
(a) First to staff providing educational services to students 12
with disabilities in prekindergarten through grade five, with further 13
prioritization informed by the incident report summaries prepared 14
under section 4(3) of this act; 15
(b) Second to staff providing educational services to students 16
with disabilities in grades six through 12; and 17
(c) Third to all other staff. 18
(4) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 19
section. 20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 28A.410 21
RCW to read as follows: 22
In establishing policies and requirements for the preparation and 23
certification of educators under RCW 28A.410.210, the Washington 24
professional educator standards board shall require that the programs 25
of courses, requirements, and other activities leading to educator 26
certification include the foundational knowledge and skills of 27
student behavior management, as defined in section 2 of this act.28
Sec. 10. RCW 28A.320.127 and 2016 c 48 s 1 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, each school district 31
((must)) shall adopt a plan for recognition, initial screening, and 32
response to emotional or behavioral distress in students, including 33
but not limited to indicators of possible substance abuse, violence, 34
youth suicide, and sexual abuse. The school district ((must)) shall 35
annually provide the plan to all district staff. 36
(2) At a minimum the plan must address: 37
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(a) Identification of training opportunities in recognition, 1
screening, and referral that may be available for staff;2
(b) How to use the expertise of district staff who have been 3
trained in recognition, screening, and referral; 4
(c) How staff should respond to suspicions, concerns, or warning 5
signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students in a manner 6
that is age and developmentally appropriate and considers any known 7
or documented disabilities of the students; 8
(d) Identification and development of partnerships with community 9
organizations and agencies for referral of students to health, mental 10
health, substance abuse, and social support services, including 11
development of at least one memorandum of understanding between the 12
district and such an entity in the community or region;13
(e) Protocols and procedures for communication with parents and 14
guardians, including the notification requirements under RCW 15
28A.320.160; 16
(f) How staff should implement trauma-informed and relationship-17
centered de-escalation approaches to respond to a crisis situation 18
where a student is in imminent danger to himself or herself or 19
others, including protocols to comply with student isolation and 20
restraint requirements under RCW 28A.600.485; 21
(g) How the district will provide support to students and staff 22
after an incident of violence, youth suicide, or allegations of 23
sexual abuse; 24
(h) How staff should respond when allegations of sexual contact 25
or abuse are made against a staff member, a volunteer, or a parent, 26
guardian, or family member of the student, including how staff should 27
interact with parents, law enforcement, and child protective 28
services; and 29
(i) How the district will provide to certificated and classified 30
staff the training on the obligation to report physical abuse or 31
sexual misconduct required under RCW 28A.400.317. 32
(3) The plan under this section may be a separate plan or a 33
component of another district plan or policy, such as the harassment, 34
intimidation, and bullying prevention policy under RCW 28A.300.2851 35
or the comprehensive safe school plan required under RCW 28A.320.125.36
Sec. 11. RCW 28A.413.050 and 2021 c 197 s 12 are each amended to 37
read as follows: 38
p. 20 SB 5654
(1) The board shall adopt state standards of practice for 1
paraeducators that are based on the recommendations of the 2
paraeducator work group established in chapter 136, Laws of 2014. 3
These standards must include: 4
(a) Supporting instructional opportunities; 5
(b) Demonstrating professionalism and ethical practices;6
(c) Supporting a positive and safe learning environment , 7
including by assisting certificated staff with: (i) Responding to the 8
emotional or behavioral distress of students in a manner that is age 9
and developmentally appropriate and considers any disabilities of the 10
students; (ii) implementing behavior management practices and 11
positive behavioral supports; and (iii) using trauma-informed and 12
relationship-centered approaches for de-escalating aggressive student 13
behaviors that include problem solving and conflict resolution;14
(d) Communicating effectively and participating in the team 15
process; and 16
(e) The standards of practice developed by the Washington 17
professional educator standards board under RCW 28A.410.260.18
(2) By January 1, 2020, in order to ensure that paraeducators can 19
recognize signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students and 20
appropriately refer students for assistance and support, the board 21
shall incorporate into the standards of practice for paraeducators 22
adopted under subsection (1) of this section the social-emotional 23
learning standards, benchmarks, and related competencies described in 24
RCW 28A.410.270. 25
Sec. 12. RCW 28A.415.445 and 2021 c 197 s 8 are each amended to 26
read as follows: 27
(1) Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, and every other school 28
year thereafter, school districts must use one of the professional 29
learning days funded under RCW 28A.150.415 to train school district 30
staff in one or more of the following topics: Social-emotional 31
learning, trauma-informed practices, using the model plan developed 32
under RCW 28A.320.1271 related to recognition and response to 33
emotional or behavioral distress, classroom management strategies 34
that include positive behavioral supports and de-escalation 35
practices, consideration of adverse childhood experiences, mental 36
health literacy, antibullying strategies, or culturally sustaining 37
practices. 38
p. 21 SB 5654
(2)(a) In the 2021-22 school year, school districts must use one 1
of the professional learning days funded under RCW 28A.150.415 to 2
train school district staff in one or more of the following topics: 3
Cultural competency, diversity, equity, or inclusion.4
(b) Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, and every other school 5
year thereafter, school districts must use one of the professional 6
learning days funded under RCW 28A.150.415 to provide to school 7
district staff a variety of opportunities for training, professional 8
development, and professional learning aligned with the cultural 9
competency, equity, diversity, and inclusion standards of practice 10
developed by the Washington professional educator standards board 11
under RCW 28A.410.260. Alignment with the standards of practice must 12
be evaluated using the rubrics developed under RCW 28A.410.260. The 13
opportunities must also include training on multicultural education 14
and principles of English language acquisition. 15
(3) For the purposes of this section: 16
(a) "Cultural competency," "diversity," "equity," and "inclusion" 17
have the same meaning as in RCW 28A.415.443. 18
(b) "School district staff" includes classified staff, 19
certificated instructional staff, certificated administrative staff, 20
and superintendents. 21
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT EXTENSION22
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1)(a) The omnibus operating 23
appropriations act, chapter 475, Laws of 2023, appropriated funding 24
to the office of the superintendent of public instruction for two-25
year demonstration projects that build school-wide systems to support 26
students in distress and prevent crisis escalation cycles that may 27
result in restraint or isolation. The office of the superintendent of 28
public instruction established demonstration projects with 29
demonstration sites and pilot sites.30
(b) Six demonstration sites were selected to showcase best 31
practices and serve as learning communities and examples that allow 32
other school districts to observe positive practices in real-world 33
settings. Sixteen pilot sites were selected to engage in targeted 34
professional development through learning experiences offered by the 35
demonstration sites and state contracted professional development 36
providers, as well as complete other tasks to achieve the project 37
goal. 38
p. 22 SB 5654
(c) In its progress report on the outcomes of the demonstration 1
projects, the office of the superintendent of public instruction 2
recommended that the projects be funded for two additional years.3
(2)(a) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for 4
this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public 5
instruction shall provide grants for the demonstration projects 6
established as described in subsection (1) of this section. To the 7
extent funding is sufficient to increase the number of pilot sites, 8
the office of the superintendent of public instruction must select 9
additional pilot sites in central or eastern Washington.10
(b) The funded demonstration sites must showcase the following 11
practices: Staff use of behavior management and crisis de-escalation 12
strategies; staff knowledge and support of district policies; student 13
and school needs assessments; use of regulation spaces for students; 14
reduced use of student isolation and restraint; inclusionary 15
practices for students eligible for special education; and isolation/16
restraint incident data collection and reporting. The demonstration 17
sites must continue to serve as learning communities and examples 18
that allow other school districts, not only the pilot sites, to 19
observe positive practices in real-world settings.20
(c) The funded pilot sites must take advantage of learning 21
experiences provided by the state contractors and demonstration sites 22
to build school-level and district-level systems that incorporate 23
positive, trauma-informed behavior support practices to prevent 24
crisis escalation and reduce the use of restraint and isolation. The 25
pilot sites must improve data collection and reporting systems and 26
complete other tasks to achieve the project goal. 27
(3) By November 15, 2026, and in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, 28
the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall report 29
to the appropriate committees of the legislature with a final report 30
on the demonstration projects. The report must, to the extent 31
possible, quantify the impact of the demonstration projects in terms 32
of student outcomes, such as reductions in isolations and restraints, 33
increases in the amount of time students with disabilities spend in 34
the general education setting, reduction in disciplinary actions, or 35
increases in assessment scores. The report must also address key 36
implementation challenges and findings, as well as include 37
recommendations for statewide policy changes. 38
(4) This section expires August 1, 2027. 39
p. 23 SB 5654
STATE MONITORING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE1
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 2
RCW to read as follows: 3
(1) As required by this section, the office of the superintendent 4
of public instruction shall monitor and support the compliance of 5
school districts and other providers of public educational services 6
with requirements related to student isolation and restraint and room 7
clears under RCW 28A.600.485 and 28A.600.486 and sections 4 and 8 of 8
this act. 9
(2) Within three months of receipt, the office of the 10
superintendent of public instruction shall review each staff training 11
plan and update submitted by a school district or other provider of 12
public educational services under section 8 of this act.13
(3) At least annually, the office of the superintendent of public 14
instruction shall require school districts and other providers of 15
public educational services to submit incident report summaries 16
prepared under section 4 (3) of this act. The office of the 17
superintendent of public instruction shall publish the incident 18
report data and summaries on its website within 90 days of receipt. 19
The data must be published in a format that enables trend analyses, 20
including the examination of intersecting marginalized identities.21
(4)(a) Ongoing technical assistance must be provided to school 22
districts and other providers of public educational services to 23
support compliance with the requirements related to student isolation 24
and restraint and room clears under RCW 28A.600.485 and 28A.600.486 25
and sections 4 and 8 of this act. 26
(b) At a minimum, this technical assistance must include 27
publishing: 28
(i) Guidance related to student isolation and restraint and room 29
clears under RCW 28A.600.485 and 28A.600.486 and sections 4 and 8 of 30
this act that is updated periodically to support best practices;31
(ii) An approved list of intensive crisis prevention and response 32
training programs that are evidence-based, trauma-informed, student-33
centered, and proactive. The school mental health assessment research 34
and training center at the University of Washington and the state 35
association for behavior analysis must be consulted during the 36
program approval process; 37
p. 24 SB 5654
(iii) A model plan and guidance for staff training on student 1
behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and response 2
developed as required by section 7 of this act; and3
(iv) A daily incident report form that includes fields for the 4
information required by section 4(3)(a) of this act.5
(5) Before implementing the technical assistance, and 6
periodically thereafter, the office of the superintendent of public 7
instruction shall collaborate with statewide associations 8
representing school administrators, classified staff, and 9
certificated staff to conduct focus groups for the purpose of better 10
understanding staff challenges related to implementation of student 11
isolation and restraint and room clear requirements under RCW 12
28A.600.485 and 28A.600.486 and sections 4 and 8 of this act.13
(6) Annually by November 1st, and in compliance with RCW 14
43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction 15
shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature with a 16
summary of its monitoring and support activities required by this 17
section. The report must describe the progress that school districts 18
and other providers of public educational services have made towards 19
providing training to staff as required by section 8 of this act. The 20
report must also highlight exemplar school districts and other 21
providers of public educational services using best practices to 22
eliminate the use of isolation and restraint. 23
(7) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 24
adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW for the implementation of this 25
section, sections 2, 4, 7, 8, and 14 through 19 of this act, and RCW 26
28A.600.485, 28A.600.486, 28A.155.210, 28A.320.127, and 28A.415.445.27
(8) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 28
section. 29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 30
RCW to read as follows: 31
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 32
specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public 33
instruction shall provide, or contract for the provision of, 34
intensive crisis prevention and response training.35
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 36
establish criteria for prioritizing provision of the training to 37
staff in the following order: 38
p. 25 SB 5654
(a) Staff in school districts and other providers of public 1
educational services that claimed an exemption from the prohibition 2
on isolation of prekindergarten through grade five students under RCW 3
28A.600.485(4)(b), with further prioritization informed by the 4
incident report summaries prepared under section 4(3) of this act;5
(b) Staff in school districts and other providers of public 6
educational services that submit policies and procedures that include 7
staff isolation of students in any of grades six through 12 as 8
required by RCW 28A.600.486(3), with further prioritization informed 9
by the incident report summaries prepared under section 4 (3) of this 10
act; and 11
(c) Staff not otherwise included in (a) or (b) of this subsection 12
(2) in school districts and other providers of public educational 13
services with high incidents of isolation, restraint, room clears, 14
and injuries. 15
(3) Training under this section must be provided to the 16
principals and other building administrators at the same time it is 17
provided to the classified and certificated instructional staff.18
(4) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 19
section. 20
REGIONAL COACHES21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A new section is added to chapter 28A.310 22
RCW to read as follows: 23
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 24
specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public 25
instruction shall distribute funding to educational service districts 26
for regional coaches to support school districts and other providers 27
of public educational services to implement requirements related to 28
student isolation and restraint and room clears under RCW 28A.600.485 29
and 28A.600.486 and sections 4 and 8 of this act. 30
(2) Regional coaches shall promote evidence-based, trauma-31
informed crisis prevention and response practices that are less 32
restrictive than isolation and restraint, as well as classroom 33
management techniques and the use of a multitiered system of 34
supports. In addition, regional coaches must have received intensive 35
crisis prevention and response training through a program approved by 36
the office of the superintendent of public instruction under section 37
14(4) of this act. 38
p. 26 SB 5654
(3) The duties of the regional coaches must include mentoring, 1
observing classes, providing feedback, providing trainings, training 2
others to be trainers and mentors, and supporting actions to nurture 3
a positive social and emotional school and classroom climate as 4
described in RCW 28A.345.085. 5
(4) An educational service district that receives funding under 6
this section must prioritize coaching services to local school 7
districts and other providers of public educational services using 8
the criteria established by the office of the superintendent of 9
public instruction to prioritize provision of training under section 10
15 of this act. 11
(5) Educational service districts are encouraged to employ or 12
contract with board certified behavior analysts to be regional 13
coaches. 14
(6) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 15
section. 16
PLANS OF IMPROVEMENT17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 18
RCW to read as follows: 19
(1) When a school district or other provider of public 20
educational services is not making sufficient progress towards the 21
goals established in its staff training plan submitted under section 22
8 of this act or when disparities in use of isolation or restraint 23
are identified in its incident report summaries prepared under 24
section 4(3) of this act, the office of the superintendent of public 25
instruction shall place the school district or other provider of 26
public educational services on a plan of improvement. Under a plan of 27
improvement, the office of the superintendent of public instruction 28
shall provide targeted technical assistance, including annual site 29
visits, until the school district or other provider of public 30
educational services makes sufficient progress towards providing 31
required staff training, or eliminates disparities in use of 32
isolation or restraint, or both. 33
(2) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 34
section. 35
TRAINING PROGRAM FOR GOVERNING BODIES36
p. 27 SB 5654
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
(1) By November 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of 3
public instruction shall develop a training program for school 4
district boards of directors and the governing bodies of other 5
providers of public educational services to meet requirements related 6
to student isolation and restraint and room clears under RCW 7
28A.600.485 and 28A.600.486 and sections 4 and 8 of this act. The 8
training program must be updated periodically. 9
(2) At a minimum, the training program must include the following 10
content: 11
(a) The legal prohibitions and limitations on the use of 12
isolation and restraint on students provided under RCW 28A.600.485;13
(b) The social-emotional and physical impacts to students and 14
staff resulting from the use of isolation and restraint rather than 15
trauma-informed interventions, such as de-escalation strategies and 16
student-centered, restorative practices; 17
(c) How to assess compliance with RCW 28A.600.485 and 28A.600.486 18
and sections 4 and 8 of this act; 19
(d) A summary of the resources available through the office of 20
the superintendent of public instruction and the educational service 21
districts; 22
(e) A review of the applicable model policy of the Washington 23
state school directors' association; 24
(f) The model plan and guidance for staff training on student 25
behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and response 26
developed as required by section 7 of this act; and27
(g) Options for supporting system improvement by reprioritizing 28
resources. 29
(3) The training program must be developed and updated in 30
partnership with the Washington state school directors' association.31
(4) The training program must be made available at no cost and be 32
easily accessible to school district boards of directors, the 33
governing bodies of other providers of public educational services, 34
and the Washington state school directors' association.35
(5) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 36
section. 37
SUPPORT FOR THOSE CLAIMING A TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM ELEMENTARY 38
ISOLATION PROHIBITIONS39
p. 28 SB 5654
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 1
RCW to read as follows: 2
(1)(a) By November 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of 3
public instruction shall establish and implement a process for school 4
districts and other providers of public educational services to claim 5
an exemption from the prohibition on isolating prekindergarten 6
through grade five students under RCW 28A.600.485(4). The office of 7
the superintendent of public instruction shall approve the exemption 8
of each school district or other provider of public educational 9
services that claims an exemption by August 1, 2027.10
(b) Exemptions authorized under this section expire on July 31, 11
2030; however, the office of the superintendent of public instruction 12
is authorized to extend the exemption expiration date for any school 13
district or other provider of public educational services that 14
claimed an exemption by August 1, 2027, until staff have received 15
student behavior management and intensive crisis prevention and 16
response training as described in the staff training plan prepared 17
under section 8 of this act. 18
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 19
provide technical assistance to school districts and other providers 20
of public educational services that claimed an exemption. Technical 21
assistance must include assisting with the preparation of a staff 22
training plan, as required by section 8 of this act, that supports 23
compliance with conditions and limitations on use of student 24
isolation under RCW 28A.600.485(4) as soon as practicable.25
(3) School districts and other providers of public educational 26
services that claimed an exemption must be prioritized for training 27
under section 15 of this act and for regional coaching services under 28
section 16 of this act. 29
(4) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 30
section. 31
(5) This section expires August 30, 2041. 32
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY REPORT33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. (1) By December 1, 2025, and in 34
compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of 35
public instruction shall report to the appropriate committees of the 36
legislature with a rolling training strategy to ensure that the 37
school districts and other providers of public educational services 38
p. 29 SB 5654
that claim, by August 1, 2027, an exemption from the prohibition on 1
isolating prekindergarten through grade five students under RCW 2
28A.600.485(4) have the opportunity to, by each provider's exemption 3
expiration date, substantially complete either: (a) The model plan 4
for staff training developed as required by section 7 of this act; or 5
(b) the staff training plan prepared by the school district or other 6
provider of public educational services under section 8 of this act. 7
In developing the strategy, the office of the superintendent of 8
public instruction must consider lessons learned from the 9
demonstration projects and provision of staff training authorized in 10
section 501 (4)(mm), chapter 475, Laws of 2023, the demonstration 11
projects authorized under section 13 of this act, any intensive 12
crisis prevention and response training provided under section 15 of 13
this act, and the number of exemptions claimed under section 19 of 14
this act. The report must identify the intensive crisis prevention 15
and response training program providers approved under section 14 (4) 16
of this act and those known to be used by school districts and other 17
providers of public educational services. The report must also 18
describe how the state trainings provided under section 15 of this 19
act connect to related trainings, for example trainings on a 20
multitiered system of supports, available regionally and locally, to 21
create a cohesive and integrated system of staff trainings on student 22
behavior management. 23
(2) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 24
section. 25
(3) This section expires August 30, 2027. 26
EDUCATOR PREPARATION AND PARAEDUCATOR CERTIFICATE REPORT27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. (1) By December 1, 2025, and in 28
compliance with RCW 43.01.036, the Washington professional educator 29
standards board and the paraeducator board shall jointly submit to 30
the appropriate committees of the legislature a plan for integrating 31
into educator preparation programs the requirements in section 9 of 32
this act and for integrating into paraeducator standards of practice 33
the new requirements in RCW 28A.413.050.34
(2) This section expires June 30, 2026. 35
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ROOM CLEAR REPORT1
NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. (1) The office of the superintendent of 2
public instruction shall contract with a research entity to study and 3
report on the use of room clears in Washington. The research entity 4
must analyze and report on the impacts of a room clear on the 5
students involved, including those who are removed from the 6
classroom. The report must, at a minimum, consider the impact of room 7
clears on lost instructional time, student mental health, and social-8
emotional learning. The research entity must also identify and 9
summarize best practices on the use of room clears. The report of the 10
research entity must be submitted by the office of the superintendent 11
of public instruction to the appropriate committees of the 12
legislature by September 1, 2026, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.13
(2) This section expires August 30, 2027. 14
REPORT ON PLACEMENT IN AUTHORIZED ENTITIES15
Sec. 23. RCW 28A.155.250 and 2023 c 436 s 8 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
(1) Beginning December 1, 2023, and in compliance with RCW 18
43.01.036, the office of the superintendent of public instruction 19
shall annually submit a report to the education committees of the 20
legislature regarding placements of students with disabilities at 21
authorized entities under RCW 28A.155.060. A summary of the report, 22
including a link to the full report content, must also be posted on 23
the office of the superintendent of public instruction's website. The 24
report must include: 25
(a) The number of students with disabilities placed in authorized 26
entities within the state and the number of students with 27
disabilities placed in authorized entities outside the state, 28
disaggregated by the placing school district;29
(b) The academic progress of students receiving special education 30
services from authorized entities, using the results of the two most 31
recent state assessments; 32
(((b))) (c) The graduation rates of students who have received 33
special education services from authorized entities;34
(((c))) (d) The rate at which students receiving special 35
education services from authorized entities return to their resident 36
school districts; 37
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(((d))) (e) Data on student restraint and isolation incidents, 1
discipline, and attendance at authorized entities; ((and2
(e))) (f) An analysis of year-over-year placement rates in 3
authorized entities that includes whether placement decisions are 4
influenced by requirements related to student isolation and restraint 5
under RCW 28A.600.485; and6
(g) Any corrective action or change in an entity's authorization 7
status, as ordered by the office of the superintendent of public 8
instruction. 9
(2) The data published under subsection (1) of this section must 10
be disaggregated by each authorized entity when it is possible to do 11
so without disclosing, directly or indirectly, a student's personally 12
identifiable information as protected under the federal family 13
educational rights and privacy act (Title 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g).14
(3) As used in this section, "authorized entity" has the same 15
meaning as in RCW 28A.300.690. 16
REPEALER17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. RCW 28A.415.330 (Professional development 18
institutes— Managing disruptive students) and 1999 c 166 s 2 are each 19
repealed.20
NULL AND VOID21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. If specific funding for the purposes of 22
this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not 23
provided by June 30, 2025, in the omnibus appropriations act, this 24
act is null and void.25
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