(a) Administering a chemical restraint to a student receiving special education services, as defined by § 49-10-102, is prohibited; provided, that nothing in this subsection (a) shall prohibit the administration of a chemical restraint when administered for therapeutic purposes under the direction of a physician and with the student’s parent or guardian‘s consent to administer such chemical restraint.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-10-1305

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Chemical restraint: means a medication that is prescribed to restrict a student's freedom of movement for the control of extreme violent physical behavior. See Tennessee Code 49-10-1303
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Isolation room: means any space, structure, or area pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 49-10-1303
  • Mechanical restraint: means the application of a mechanical device, material or equipment attached or adjacent to the student's body, including ambulatory restraints, which the student cannot easily remove and that restrict freedom of movement or normal access to the student's body. See Tennessee Code 49-10-1303
  • Noxious substance: means the use of any defense spray or substance as defined by departmental rule. See Tennessee Code 49-10-1303
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Restraint: means a chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, or physical holding restraint. See Tennessee Code 49-10-1303
  • School personnel: means an individual employed on a full-time or part-time basis by a public school. See Tennessee Code 49-10-1303
  • Special education: means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, home, hospitals, institutions, and other settings, and instruction in physical education. See Tennessee Code 49-10-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Administering a noxious substance to a student receiving special education services, as defined by § 49-10-102, is prohibited.
(c) The use of any mechanical restraint on any student receiving special education services, as defined by § 49-10-102, is prohibited.
(d) Any form of life threatening restraint, including restraint that restricts the flow of air into a person‘s lungs, whether by chest compression or any other means, to a student receiving special education services, as defined by § 49-10-102, is prohibited.
(e)

(1) The use of isolation or restraint as a means of coercion, punishment, convenience or retaliation on any student receiving special education services, as defined by § 49-10-102, is prohibited.
(2) Removing or disabling any equipment or device that a student requires, including, but not limited to, a power wheelchair, brace, augmentative communication device, or walker, as a means of coercion, punishment, convenience, or retaliation on any student receiving special education services, as defined by § 49-10-102, is prohibited.
(3) [Deleted by 2021 amendment.]
(f) The use of a locked door, or any physical structure, mechanism, or device that substantially accomplishes the function of locking a student in a room, structure, or area, is prohibited.
(g) Any enclosed area or structure used as an isolation room shall be:

(1) Unlocked and incapable of being locked;
(2) Free of any condition that could be a danger to the student;
(3) Well ventilated and temperature controlled;
(4) Sufficiently lighted for the comfort and well-being of the student;
(5) Where school personnel are in continuous direct visual contact with the student at all times;
(6) At least forty square feet (40 sq. ft.); and
(7) In compliance with all applicable state and local fire, health, and safety codes.
(h) Notwithstanding this section, actions undertaken by school personnel to break up a fight or to take a weapon from a student are not prohibited; however, these acts shall be reported.
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