Restraint Training for Educators: Techniques, Considerations, and Alternatives

The use of physical restraint in schools is a complex and controversial issue. While safety holds may seem necessary to prevent students from harming themselves or others, they also carry significant risks. This article explores the techniques involved in restraint training for educators, examines the scrutiny surrounding safety holds, and discusses alternative approaches to managing student behavior.

Understanding Restraint Techniques

Restraint training programs aim to equip educators with the skills to safely manage crisis situations involving students who pose an imminent threat. These programs often cover various types of physical restraints, including:

Standing restraints: Designed to restrict a child's arm movements.
Supine restraints: Involve a "takedown" to the floor, followed by securing the student's arms and legs while they are face up.
Prone restraints: Similar to supine restraints, but the student is turned onto their stomach after the takedown.

It's crucial to note that prone and supine restraints, or any maneuver that places pressure or weight on the chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, neck, or throat, are considered the most dangerous and should be used with extreme caution. No restraint should be administered in such a manner that prevents a student from breathing or speaking.

Key Components of Restraint Training:

Effective restraint training should encompass the following elements:

Legal and Ethical Considerations: Providing attendees with a thorough understanding of federal and state laws pertaining to restraint.
Positive Behavior Supports: Training should include content and skills on the use of positive, instructional, preventive methods for addressing student behavior. Data should be collected to verify implementation of positive supports and procedures.
Safe Restraint Techniques: Instruction on how to safely apply restraint, minimizing the risk of injury to both the student and the staff member. Restraints should only be conducted by persons who are trained in the use of such procedures. Training must be relevant to the particular setting. For example, training designed for mental health agencies may not translate well into educational settings.
Monitoring and Debriefing: Procedures for monitoring the student's physical and emotional well-being during and after the restraint, as well as debriefing with all involved parties. The program supervisor or building administrator should be informed as soon as possible after each use of restraint. Due to the risk of injury, shock, and potential delayed effects, the physical well-being of the student should be monitored for the remainder of the school day. This debriefing should include all of the participants in a restraint situation, an administrator, and at least one other staff member who has expertise in the use of behavioral techniques and who was not involved in the restraint procedure. The student should also be invited to participate.

The Scrutiny Surrounding Safety Holds

Safety holds have come under intense scrutiny due to concerns about their potential for abuse and the risk of serious injury or death. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a study that analyzed reports of abuse or death stemming from these holds, finding that blocking a child’s air passages or otherwise restricting airflow could be deadly.

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Risks Associated with Restraint:

Physical harm: Restraints can cause injuries ranging from bruises and sprains to more severe trauma, especially if applied improperly.
Psychological harm: Restraint can be a traumatizing experience for students, leading to anxiety, fear, and behavioral problems.
Death: In extreme cases, restraints have resulted in fatalities, particularly when techniques that restrict breathing are used.

Given these risks, it is imperative that educators receive comprehensive training and that safety holds are used only as a last resort in situations where there is an imminent and serious physical threat.

Alternatives to Restraint: De-escalation and Prevention

Recognizing the dangers associated with physical restraint, many schools and organizations are prioritizing alternative approaches to managing student behavior. These approaches focus on de-escalation techniques and proactive strategies to prevent crises from occurring in the first place.

De-escalation Techniques:

De-escalation involves using verbal and non-verbal communication techniques to defuse a situation before it escalates to the point where physical intervention is necessary. Key components of de-escalation include:

Active listening: Paying attention to the student's concerns and emotions, and responding in a calm and empathetic manner.
Verbal calming: Using a soothing tone of voice and simple, clear language to help the student regain control.
Non-verbal communication: Maintaining a non-threatening posture and respecting the student's personal space.
Identifying triggers: Recognizing the factors that may be contributing to the student's distress and addressing them proactively.

Proactive Strategies for Prevention:

Preventive strategies aim to create a positive and supportive school environment that minimizes the likelihood of behavioral crises. These strategies include:

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS): A framework for creating a positive school culture and teaching students appropriate behavior.
Trauma-informed practices: Recognizing that many students have experienced trauma and adapting school policies and practices to meet their needs.
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs): For students with disabilities, these plans outline specific strategies for addressing their behavioral needs. For students with disabilities, the use of restraint is an emergency procedure and should not be incorporated into the student’s Individual Educational Program (IEP) or Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and should not be considered a behavior change strategy. IEPs and BIPs reflect plans for educational programming. Physical restraint is regarded as an emergency procedure that should be a part of an emergency or safety plan, not routine programming.
Low Arousal Approach: Designed and implemented by Studio 3, has been applied in a variety of different care settings, and is also becoming more popular in schools and classrooms.

The Studio 3 Approach: Freedom from Restraint and Seclusion

The Studio 3 approach to crisis management focuses on changing supporters’ own behaviour rather than the behaviour of often vulnerable and distressed people in crisis. The Studio 3 approach has been successfully applied in the area of restraint and seclusion de-compression and eradication in a variety of settings across the UK and Europe.

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CRT (Crisis Response Training)

CRT instructs our trainees to use the least amount of force needed to restrain an individual and prevent others from being harmed. CRT development began in 2006, when while working as a public school administrator, CRT founder Matt Eldridge observed a restraint training in his district. The training needed to be simple enough for our staff to be able to learn and utilize it throughout the year.

CRT offers:

Train the Trainer Model: CRT instructors provides de-escalation and restraint training to individuals who can then train others within their system or company for no additional fee.
Hybrid Training Model: CRT instructors provide de-escalation and restraint training to your staff and to individuals who can then train others within your system or company.

Research and Collaboration

There is a current lack of research on all aspects of physical restraint. Research should be conducted regarding the use of restraint with students across all settings, with the goal of reduction and/or elimination. CEC, CCBD, and other divisions should collaborate with other appropriate professional organizations to create content and training standards, quality indicators, and accreditation procedures for crisis intervention training which includes physical restraint.

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