State of Idaho House Bill 281: Training Requirements for Public and Charter School Staff

State of Idaho House Bill No. 281
Amending §33-1224
Effective: July 1, 2023

All public and charter school staff directly assigned to students or classrooms shall receive annual professional development training regarding:

CPI Alignment
CPI advocates for annual professional development training to take place every 6-12 months. To help with this, CPI has the largest selection of refresher courses to not only refresh your staff in existing content, but to give them new skills as well. Topics ranging from trauma-informed care to communicating with those who have autism spectrum disorder can help you refresh and expand staff confidence and competency in dealing with situations.

• Positive behavior support

CPI Alignment
The premises, strategies, and themes found throughout PBIS are also found throughout the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® (NCI^™) training program. We believe that creating a safe school environment is dependent on every person in the building.

NCI^™ training is focused on preventing the need to use restraint or seclusion. Three-fourths of the program focuses on preventive techniques and alternatives to the use of restraint and seclusion.

• De-escalation techniques

CPI Alignment
The NCI^™ training program focuses on prevention by recognizing the early warning signs of potential crisis situations and equipping staff with nonverbal and verbal de-escalation skills. Specifically, the Crisis Development Model^SM describes recognizable behavior levels that an escalating person might go through during a crisis. It also describes corresponding staff attitudes and approaches to de-escalate behaviors.

• Classroom behavior management

CPI Alignment
CPI believes that training staff in safe and effective strategies for recognizing potential crisis situations, as well as in developing de-escalation, Empathic Listening, limit setting, and debriefing skills is imperative in creating a safe school climate and more effective classrooms.

All staff directly serving students or classrooms with students who demonstrate aggressive or dangerous behaviors shall also receive annual professional development training in:

CPI Alignment
CPI recommends that all staff receive a formal refresher training program every 6 to 12 months.

• Crisis management

CPI Alignment
CPI’s trauma-informed, person-centered training will help staff with what to look for and how to assess student disruptions and how to successfully prevent or manage crisis situations. CPI’s training provides a full range of prevention techniques on verbal de-escalation and physical disengagement skills to defuse any incidents that staff cannot successfully prevent.

• De-escalation techniques

CPI Alignment
The NCI^™ training program focuses on prevention by recognizing the early warning signs of potential crisis situations and equipping staff with nonverbal and verbal de-escalation skills. Specifically, the Crisis Development ModelSM describes recognizable behavior levels that an escalating person might go through during a crisis. It also describes corresponding staff attitudes and approaches to de-escalate behaviors.

• The correct use of restraints and seclusion when required

CPI Alignment
The NCI^™ training program uses both verbal and physical interventions to prevent or manage crisis situations. We train that the least restrictive form of intervention should always be considered and utilized first, prior to the use of any physical restraint. Within this training, we also introduce a risk assessment matrix which helps staff to consider what level of intervention to utilize based on the level of risk. The Decision-Making MatrixSM and Physical Skills Review assist staff decision-making in the use of physical restraints. The physical restraints include lower-, medium-, and higher-level holding skills to safely manage risk behavior in a balanced and proportionate manner. Our NCI^™ training utilizes the standard of last resort as the only appropriate time to use restraint or seclusion. Last resort comes about when the student’s behavior creates imminent danger to self or others, and the danger of the behavior outweighs the risks associated with using restraint. Because the risks associated with restraint use are so great, any episode of restraint should be ended at the earliest possible moment when the student is no longer an imminent danger to self or others. Restraint should be used to protect, not to punish, and should never be used for staff convenience. Staff called upon to utilize restraint should receive ongoing, competency- based training. This training should include information on identifying signs of distress that might indicate the need to immediately end the intervention.

• Implementation of functional behavior assessment, behavior intervention plans, and crisis plans

CPI Alignment
The CPI debriefing process outlined in the NCI^™ training program correlates with steps of a formal Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) process. It does not replace a FBA but supports the data collection and planning efforts that are a part of the FBA process.

• Classroom behavior management

CPI Alignment
CPI’s trauma-informed, person-centered training will help staff with what to look for and how to assess student disruptions and how to successfully prevent or manage crisis situations. CPI’s training provides a full range of prevention techniques on verbal de-escalation and physical disengagement skills to defuse any incidents that staff cannot successfully prevent.

Schools must have a restraint and seclusion policy which applies to all students and includes:

CPI Alignment
As part of a comprehensive restraint and seclusion initiative, CPI recommends that organizations adopt policies and procedures that reflect the philosophy and strategies taught in the NCI™ training program. CPI offers a variety of resources, tools, and services that support organizations seeking to update their policies and procedures.

• Definitions of physical restraint, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, and seclusion

CPI Alignment
CPI programming provides clarity of physical, mechanical and chemical restraint, and seclusion. CPI utilizes state and agency definitions to assure participant understanding.

• Guidelines for use and prohibitions for use of restraint and seclusion

CPI Alignment
The NCI^™ training program uses both verbal and physical interventions to prevent or manage crisis situations. We train that the least restrictive form of intervention should always be considered and utilized first, prior to the use of any physical restraint. Within this training, we also introduce a risk assessment matrix which helps staff to consider what level of intervention to utilize based on the level of risk. The Decision-Making MatrixSM and Physical Skills Review both assist staff decision-making in the use of physical restraints. The physical restraints include lower-, medium-, and higher-level holding skills to safely manage risk behavior in a balanced and proportionate manner. Our NCI^™ training utilizes the standard of last resort as the only appropriate time to use restraint or seclusion. Last resort comes about when the student’s behavior creates imminent danger to self or others, and the danger of the behavior outweighs the risks associated with using restraint. Because the risks associated with restraint use are so great, any episode of restraint should be ended at the earliest possible moment when the student is no longer an imminent danger to self or others. Restraint should be used to protect, not to punish, and should never be used for staff convenience. Staff called upon to utilize restraint should receive ongoing, competency-based training. This training should include information on identifying signs of distress that might indicate the need to immediately end the intervention.

• Reporting requirements for documenting and informing parents, administrators, and federal agencies of each instance of restraint or seclusion

CPI Alignment
CPI training emphasizes the importance of post-incident assessments after a restraint was used.

The NCI™ training program provides a model for assessing and gathering incident data to aid staff in performing this important evaluation process.

• Requirements for periodic review of instances of restraint or seclusion and of practices related to such by school district boards of trustees and directors of public charter schools

CPI Alignment
The NCI^™ training program provides a model for assessing and gathering incident data to aid staff in performing the important evaluation process. In addition, CPI offers a comprehensive means of documenting and recording staff training and provides verifiable certification records for each staff trained in CPI courses.

Restraint and seclusion shall not be used as forms of discipline or methods of classroom governance. Chemical restraint shall not be used for any purpose. Physical restraint, mechanical restraint, or seclusion may be deployed only in circumstances where a pupil’s conduct has placed himself, employees, or any other individual in imminent danger of serious bodily harm.

CPI Alignment
NCI^™ training utilizes the standard of last resort as the only appropriate time to use restraint or seclusion. Last resort comes about when the student’s behavior creates imminent danger to self or others, and the danger of the behavior outweighs the risks associated with using restraint and seclusion. Because the risks associated with restraint and seclusion use are so great, any episode of restraint or seclusion should be ended at the earliest possible moment when the student is no longer an imminent danger to self or others. The student may still be upset or noncompliant, but if the student is no longer dangerous, the restraint/seclusion should end. Restraint should be used to protect, not to punish, and should never be used for staff convenience.

CPI training does not include or address the use of any type of mechanical restraints.

CPI does not endorse or train the use of chemical restraints.

Seclusion means the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. This term does not include a timeout that is a behavior management technique that is a part of an approved program involves the monitored separation of the student in a nonlocked setting and is implemented for the purpose of calming.

CPI Alignment
CPI’s NCI^™ training program addresses myriad intervention strategies to prevent or manage assaultive and disruptive behavior. While CPI does not speak directly to the use of seclusion within our curriculum, we do recognize that it is a strategy used in schools, where permitted, as part of a continuum of emergency interventions.

Physical restraint means a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his torso, arms, legs or head freely.

CPI Alignment
CPI programming provides clarity of physical, mechanical and chemical restraint, and seclusion. CPI utilizes state and agency definitions to assure understanding.

Mechanical restraint means the use of any device or equipment to restrict a student’s freedom of movement. It does not include devices implemented by trained school personnel or utilized by a student that have been prescribed by a professional and are used for the specific and approved purposes for which it was designed such as: adaptive devices or medical supports, seatbelts, restraints for medical immobilization and orthopedically prescribed devices.

CPI Alignment
CPI programming provides clarity of physical, mechanical and chemical restraint, and seclusion. CPI utilizes state and agency definitions to assure understanding.