New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico House Bill HB260 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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28	28	HOUSE BILL 260
29	29	57
30	30	TH LEGISLATURE
31	31	-
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33	33	STATE
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35	35	OF
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39	39	MEXICO
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41	41	-
42	42	FIRST SESSION
43	43	,
44	44
45	45	2025
46	46	INTRODUCED BY
47	47	Yanira Gurrola and Eleanor Chávez
48	48	FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE
49	49	AN ACT
50	50	RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; ADDRESSING ALLOWABLE RESPONSES TO
51	51	STUDENT BEHAVIOR; LIMITING THE USE OF PHYSICAL RESTRAINT;
52	52	PROHIBITING OTHER TYPES OF RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION; REQUIRING
53	53	TRAINING; REQUIRING DOCUMENTATION OF BEHAVIORS AND TECHNIQUES.
54	54	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
55	55	SECTION 1. Section 22-5-4.12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2017,
56	56	Chapter 33, Section 1) is amended to read:
57	57	"22-5-4.12. USE OF PHYSICAL RESTRAINT [AND SECLUSION ]--
58	58	PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES --TECHNIQUES--REQUIREMENTS.--
59	59	A. As used in this section:
60	60	(1) "chemical restraint" means a medication
61	61	used to control behavior or movement; provided that "chemical
62	62	restraint" does not include the administration of medication
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90	90	prescribed by a health care provider as standard treatment for
91	91	the mental or physical condition of a student;
92	92	(2) "de-escalation" means a process that
93	93	involves using communication or other techniques to reduce the
94	94	intensity of a potentially violent situation or conflict;
95	95	(3) "elopement" means a student leaving an
96	96	assigned area without permission from or knowledge of a school
97	97	employee;
98	98	(4) "first responder" means a person based
99	99	outside of a public school who functions within the emergency
100	100	medical services system and who is dispatched to a public
101	101	school to provide initial emergency aid;
102	102	(5) "less restrictive intervention" includes
103	103	positive behavior interventions and supports and de-escalation;
104	104	(6) "mechanical restraint" means applying a
105	105	device or an object to the student's body that restricts the
106	106	student's free movement; provided that "mechanical restraint"
107	107	does not include adaptive devices, mechanical supports, vehicle
108	108	safety restraints or other devices or objects that are
109	109	prescribed by a health care provider or authorized by parental
110	110	consent for a student;
111	111	(7) "physical escort" means touching or
112	112	holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or back to induce a
113	113	student to walk to a safe location;
114	114	(8) "physical restraint" means the use of
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143	143	physical force without the use of any device or material that
144	144	restricts the free movement of all or a portion of the
145	145	student's body but does not include physical escort;
146	146	(9) "prone restraint" means a method of
147	147	intervention in which a student's face and frontal part of the
148	148	body are placed in a downward position touching a surface for
149	149	any amount of time;
150	150	(10) "restraint", when not otherwise modified,
151	151	means physical restraint;
152	152	(11) "seclusion" means the involuntary
153	153	confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which
154	154	egress is prevented and without continuous line-of-sight
155	155	supervision; provided that "seclusion" does not mean the use of
156	156	voluntary behavior management techniques, including a time-out
157	157	location, as part of a student's education plan, individual
158	158	safety plan, behavioral plan or individualized education
159	159	program that involves the student's separation from a larger
160	160	group for purposes of calming the student; and
161	161	(12) "time-out" means a continuum of behavior
162	162	management techniques designed to address inappropriate student
163	163	behavior that begin with minimally intrusive strategies up to
164	164	separation of the student from classmates for some amount of
165	165	time before a return to the classroom.
166	166	B. The following activities are prohibited in
167	167	public schools:
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196	196	(1) seclusion;
197	197	(2) chemical restraint;
198	198	(3) mechanical restraint; and
199	199	(4) prone restraint.
200	200	[A.] C. A public school may [permit] allow the use
201	201	of physical restraint [or seclusion ] techniques on [any] a
202	202	student only if [both of the following apply ]:
203	203	(1) the student's behavior presents an
204	204	imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or
205	205	others; and
206	206	(2) less restrictive interventions [appear ]
207	207	are insufficient to mitigate the imminent danger of serious
208	208	physical harm;
209	209	[B. If a restraint or seclusion technique is used
210	210	on a student:
211	211	(1) school employees shall maintain continuous
212	212	visual observation and monitoring of the student while the
213	213	restraint or seclusion technique is in use;
214	214	(2) the restraint or seclusion technique shall
215	215	end when the student's behavior no longer presents an imminent
216	216	danger of serious physical harm to the student or others;
217	217	(3) the restraint or seclusion technique shall
218	218	be used only by school employees who are trained in the safe
219	219	and effective use of restraint and seclusion techniques unless
220	220	an emergency situation does not allow sufficient time to summon
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249	249	those trained school employees;
250	250	(4) the restraint technique employed shall not
251	251	impede the student's ability to breathe or speak; and
252	252	(5) the restraint technique shall not be out
253	253	of proportion to the student's age or physical condition ] or
254	254	(3) the student is eloping and the conditions
255	255	in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection are also met. For
256	256	elopement that falls short of conditions in Paragraph (1) or
257	257	(2) of this subsection, physical restraint is not authorized,
258	258	but physical escort may be appropriate .
259	259	[C.] D. Schools shall establish policies and
260	260	procedures for the training and use of positive behavior
261	261	interventions and supports, de-escalation and physical
262	262	restraint [or seclusion ] techniques in a school safety plan;
263	263	provided that the school safety plan shall:
264	264	(1) be in accordance with guidance issued by
265	265	the department;
266	266	[(1) the school safety plan shall ] (2) not be
267	267	specific to [any] an individual student; [and
268	268	(2) any school safety plan shall ] (3) be
269	269	drafted by a planning team that includes at least one person
270	270	trained and certified in positive behavior interventions and
271	271	supports, de-escalation and restraint techniques and at least
272	272	one special education expert;
273	273	(4) address school district supports and
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302	302	strategies applicable to physical restraint for school
303	303	employees to successfully reintegrate a student who has been
304	304	physically restrained back into the school or classroom;
305	305	(5) address elopement in a separate section
306	306	and shall have procedures for elopement that requires physical
307	307	restraint and elopement that requires interventions less than
308	308	restraint; and
309	309	(6) be approved by the department.
310	310	E. Training of school employees designated in the
311	311	school safety plan shall occur biannually and in the same year
312	312	as hiring for a new school employee. All training shall be
313	313	approved by the department. At least one administrator at each
314	314	public school shall receive training addressing Paragraphs (1),
315	315	(2) and (5) of this subsection, and other school employees
316	316	shall be designated to receive training as necessary to carry
317	317	out the provisions of this section, as approved by the
318	318	department. Training shall include:
319	319	(1) less restrictive interventions, including
320	320	positive behavior interventions and supports and de-escalation;
321	321	(2) hypothetical-situation training for
322	322	triaging use of less restrictive interventions or physical
323	323	restraint;
324	324	(3) practice sessions on physical restraint
325	325	techniques;
326	326	(4) physical restraint techniques in
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355	355	proportion to the student's age or physical condition; and
356	356	(5) monitoring, documenting and reporting when
357	357	physical restraint is used.
358	358	F. If a physical restraint technique is used on a
359	359	student:
360	360	(1) school employees shall maintain continuous
361	361	visual observation and monitoring of the student while the
362	362	restraint technique is in use;
363	363	(2) the physical restraint technique shall end
364	364	immediately when the student's behavior no longer presents an
365	365	imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or
366	366	others;
367	367	(3) the physical restraint technique shall be
368	368	used only by school employees who are trained in the safe and
369	369	effective use of restraint techniques unless an emergency
370	370	situation does not allow sufficient time to summon those
371	371	trained school employees and the imminent danger to the student
372	372	or others is greater than the risk of harm of the physical
373	373	restraint to the student;
374	374	(4) the physical restraint technique employed
375	375	shall not impede the student's ability to breathe or
376	376	communicate; and
377	377	(5) the physical restraint technique shall not
378	378	be out of proportion to the student's age or physical condition
379	379	and should be consistent with the medical or other needs of the
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408	408	student known to the person applying the restraint.
409	409	G. Time-out shall not be used as a punishment.
410	410	[D.] H. Schools shall establish reporting and
411	411	documentation procedures to be followed when a physical
412	412	restraint [or seclusion ] technique has been used on a student.
413	413	The procedures shall include the following provisions:
414	414	(1) a school employee shall provide the
415	415	student's parent [or guardian ] with written or oral notice on
416	416	the same day that the incident occurred, unless circumstances
417	417	prevent same-day notification. If the notice is not provided
418	418	on the same day of the incident, notice shall be given within
419	419	twenty-four hours after the incident;
420	420	(2) within [a reasonable time ] three school
421	421	days following the incident, a school employee shall provide
422	422	the student's parent [or guardian ] with written documentation
423	423	[that includes information about any persons, locations or
424	424	activities that may have triggered the behavior, if known, and
425	425	specific information about the behavior and its precursors, the
426	426	type of restraint or seclusion technique used and the duration
427	427	of its use; and] on a department-issued form that includes:
428	428	(a) any known precursors that may have
429	429	triggered the behavior, such as specific persons, locations or
430	430	activities;
431	431	(b) a description of the behavior;
432	432	(c) the reason for physical restraint;
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461	461	(d) any less restrictive interventions
462	462	attempted or, if none were attempted, why;
463	463	(e) the duration of the physical
464	464	restraint;
465	465	(f) the location of the physical
466	466	restraint;
467	467	(g) the techniques used;
468	468	(h) the staff involved in the physical
469	469	restraint; and
470	470	(i) the date of the involved staff's
471	471	last training pursuant to this section ;
472	472	(3) schools shall review strategies used to
473	473	address a student's dangerous behavior with a person trained
474	474	and certified in de-escalation and restraint techniques if use
475	475	of restraint [or seclusion ] techniques for an individual
476	476	student has occurred [two or more times ] more than one time
477	477	during any [thirty-calendar-day period ] school year. The
478	478	review shall include:
479	479	(a) a review of the incidents in which
480	480	restraint [or seclusion ] techniques were used and an analysis
481	481	of how future incidents may be avoided, including whether the
482	482	student may be eligible for special education or requires a
483	483	functional behavioral assessment; and
484	484	(b) [a meeting of the student's ] if the
485	485	student has an individualized education program team,
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514	514	behavioral intervention plan team or student assistance team, a
515	515	requirement that the team must meet within two weeks of each
516	516	use of restraint [or seclusion after the second ] when more than
517	517	one use occurs within a [thirty-calendar-day period ] school
518	518	year to provide written recommendations for avoiding future
519	519	incidents requiring the use of physical restraint [or
520	520	seclusion]; and
521	521	(4) a parent has a right to request an
522	522	individualized education program team, behavioral intervention
523	523	plan team or student assistance team meeting after an instance
524	524	of physical restraint .
525	525	[E.] I. If a school summons law enforcement instead
526	526	of using a physical restraint [or seclusion ] technique on a
527	527	student, the school shall comply with the reporting,
528	528	documentation and review procedures established pursuant to
529	529	[Subsection D of] this section.
530	530	[F. Policies regarding restraint and seclusion
531	531	shall consider school district support and strategies for
532	532	school employees to successfully reintegrate a student who has
533	533	been restrained or secluded back into the school or classroom
534	534	environment.
535	535	G.] J. The provisions of this section shall not be
536	536	interpreted as addressing the conduct of law enforcement or
537	537	first responders.
538	538	[H.] K. The provisions of this section do not apply
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567	567	to any school located within a county juvenile detention center
568	568	or a state-operated juvenile facility.
569	569	[I. For the purposes of this section:
570	570	(1) "first responder" means a person based
571	571	outside of a school who functions within the emergency medical
572	572	services system and who is dispatched to a school to provide
573	573	initial emergency aid;
574	574	(2) "mechanical restraint" means the use of
575	575	any device or material attached or adjacent to the student's
576	576	body that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to any
577	577	portion of the student's body and that the student cannot
578	578	easily remove, but "mechanical restraint" does not include
579	579	mechanical supports or protective devices;
580	580	(3) "physical restraint" means the use of
581	581	physical force without the use of any device or material that
582	582	restricts the free movement of all or a portion of a student's
583	583	body, but "physical restraint" does not include physical
584	584	escort;
585	585	(4) "restraint" when not otherwise modified
586	586	means mechanical or physical restraint; and
587	587	(5) "seclusion" means the involuntary
588	588	confinement of a student alone in a room from which egress is
589	589	prevented. "Seclusion" does not mean the use of a voluntary
590	590	behavior management technique, including a timeout location, as
591	591	part of a student's education plan, individual safety plan,
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620	620	behavioral plan or individualized education program that
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622	622	purposes of calming.]"
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