101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5326

 

Introduced , by Rep. Fred Crespo

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.182 new

    Amends the School Code. Requires Equip for Equality, a State protection and advocacy system, to establish a monitoring team to work in collaboration with the State Board of Education to: (1) conduct monitoring of time out and physical restraint in schools and programs; (2) develop criteria for selecting schools and programs where onsite monitoring shall be conducted; (3) develop protocols for monitoring activity, including frequency and methods for gathering information and data; and (4) determine the frequency and format of reporting by the investigation unit to the State Board of Education. Requires Equip for Equity to submit an annual report to the Governor, General Assembly, and the State Superintendent of Education. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5326LRB101 19189 CMG 68652 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
52-3.182 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.182 new)
7    Sec. 2-3.182. State oversight and independent monitoring
8of the use of time out and physical restraint.
9    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that:
10        (1) Isolated time out and physical restraint are
11    inherently dangerous interventions that may exacerbate
12    existing mental health conditions and cause long-lasting
13    emotional trauma, serious physical harm, and even death.
14        (2) Despite existing law and rules prohibiting the use
15    of isolated time out or physical restraint in schools for
16    any reason other than safety, these interventions are
17    routinely used as a means of punishment or discipline or to
18    compel compliance in non-emergency situations when there
19    is no imminent threat of serious harm to the student or
20    others.
21        (3) Until recently adopted emergency rules by the State
22    Board of Education, there was no requirement that schools
23    report incidents of isolated time out or physical restraint

 

 

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1    to the State Board of Education, and oversight and
2    monitoring of these practices was minimal at best. This
3    system of self-policing has been wholly ineffective in
4    protecting vulnerable children and youth from the
5    widespread, abusive use of these interventions.
6        (4) To protect students from further misuse of these
7    practices, it is essential that the State Board establish a
8    strong system of school oversight and accountability that
9    includes independent monitoring of these practices in
10    schools.
11        (5) The Governor-designated, federally-mandated
12    protection and advocacy system for the State of Illinois,
13    Equip for Equality, has broad authority under State and
14    federal law to investigate suspected abuse or neglect,
15    including the misuse of restraint and seclusion, and
16    monitor for safety and protection of individual rights in
17    covered facilities, including in public and private
18    schools.
19        (6) In 2002, with direct funding from the Centers for
20    Medicare and Medicaid Services as a result of a
21    congressional earmark to Equip for Equality for this
22    purpose, an independent monitoring and abuse and neglect
23    investigations unit was established, with matching funds
24    from the Department of Human Services and Department of
25    Public Health. The goal of this new program was to enhance
26    safety, care, and treatment, improve the quality of life

 

 

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1    for children and adults with disabilities, and improve
2    State investigatory systems working in collaboration with
3    the State of Illinois.
4        (7) Equip for Equality has conducted independent
5    facility monitoring and abuse and neglect investigations
6    in partnership with State agencies that has led to reforms
7    and system-wide improvements.
8        (8) The facility monitoring and abuse and neglect
9    investigations unit at Equip for Equality includes
10    professionals with legal, investigative, and clinical
11    backgrounds.
12        (9) The unit has conducted monitoring of troubled
13    programs and facilities and has developed tools to
14    effectively examine compliance with the laws governing the
15    use of restraints and seclusion.
16        (10) For several decades, Equip for Equality has
17    conducted in depth reviews of restraint and seclusion
18    practices, including:
19            (A) review of restraint and seclusion incident
20        reports at State-operated mental health and
21        developmental centers, finding a systemic failure to
22        comply with State law and widespread, punitive uses of
23        these practices;
24            (B) psychiatric units at general hospitals,
25        documenting wide-spread non-compliance with federal
26        and State standards; and

 

 

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1            (C) a national examination of restraint-related
2        deaths of children and adults in a wide array of
3        settings, including schools, camps, hospitals,
4        emergency rooms, and nursing homes.
5        (11) Equip for Equality is uniquely qualified and
6    positioned to assist with the State Board of Education's
7    oversight of these practices by serving as an independent
8    monitor.
9    (b) With funding appropriated by the General Assembly for
10this purpose, Equip for Equality shall establish a monitoring
11team that will work in collaboration with the State Board of
12Education to:
13        (1) conduct monitoring of time out and physical
14    restraint in schools and programs;
15        (2) develop criteria for selecting schools and
16    programs where onsite monitoring will be conducted;
17        (3) develop protocols for monitoring activity,
18    including frequency and methods for gathering information
19    and data; and
20        (4) determine the frequency and format of reporting by
21    the investigation unit to the State Board of Education.
22    (c) Equip for Equality shall submit an annual report to the
23Governor, General Assembly, and the State Superintendent of
24Education.
 
25    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
26becoming law.