Hello--
I have carefully researched your question most of the past few days
and have your answer.
In Indiana there are several rules that educators must follow
regarding time-out rooms.
I have contacted Mary Wilhelmus with the Indiana Department of
Education. Wilhelmus is the communications director at the agency. I
asked her to do some detailed checking on this subject. She called me
back and said there are no state rules that the Indiana Department of
Education or the Indiana Board of Education has that regulate time-out
rooms. She said any time-out room rules from an educational agency are
created at the local level by the local Boards of Education. If you
would like to contact Wilhelmus directly, you may do so by calling
317-232-6614.
However, there are state rules primary and secondary schools in
Indiana must follow regarding time-out rooms from the Indiana State
Fire Marshall and Indiana Health Department.
The fire marshall states the time-out room must be supervised at all
times, and the room cannot be locked. Under Section 12.104(b) of the
Indiana Uniform Fire Code, school doors need to be able to be opened
from the inside without using a key. Recently, the Indiana state fire
marshall required several Indiana schools to remove locks from
time-out rooms. The fire marshall has ruled that time-out rooms may
not even be locked if a teacher is present in the room.
The information about Indiana time-out room rules pertaining to the
state fire marshall can be found in a Quarterly Report. The link is
<http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:Kvva1b9AJg8C:ideanet.doe.state.in.us/legal/pdf/octdec96.pdf+%22time-out+room%22+indiana+code&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>
The state health codes are regulated by a cooperative effort of the
county and state health departments. I spoke with Howard Cundiff,
communications representative with the Indiana Health Department. He
said there are no routine inspections of schools in Indiana. However,
state inspectors are sent in to schools when there are complaints from
parents, teachers, students, or the public at-large. He said if you
would like to file a complaint, you may do so by calling your county
health department or by calling the state health department. You may
speak with Cundiff directly by calling 317-233-7182.
The Indiana State Department of Health Regulations "Sanitary School
House Rule" has a lot of the information you're looking for. I've
reviewed this document and will show you how you may access it
yourself.
In a nutshell, this document outlines dimensions, ventilation,
temperature, and furniture requirements for classrooms. While this
document does not mention "time-out rooms" specifically, a time-out
room is often considered a classroom, as it is a place students study
and learn. Here are the highlights of what I found:
410 IAC 6-5.1-5 Section 5(d) states all classrooms must have no less
than 30 square feet of classroom area and that the height of the
ceilings may be no less than 7 feet tall.
410 IAC 6-5.1-5 Section 5(e) states interior surfaces of school
buildings must be "well maintained, easily cleanable, and of
non-toxic, durable construction."
410 IAC 6-5.1-5 Section 5(f) states that all parts of the school
building used for school purposes "shall be provided with natural
light by means of exterior glazed openings with an area not less than
one-tenth of the total floor area, or shall be provided with
artificial light."
410 IAC 6-5.1-5 Section 5(f)(3)(j) states that all portions of school
buildings must be provided with "natural ventilation by means of
operable exterior windows with an area of not less than one-twentieth
of the total floor area or shall be provided with a mechanically
operated ventilating system. The mechanically operated ventilating
system shall supply a minimum of five cubic feet per minute of outside
air, with a total circulation of not less than 15 cubic feet per
minute per occupant in all portions of the building."
This rule maintains that ventilation systems must be in operation
whenever a room is occupied.
This section also discusses the quality of oxygen in a school,
"Ventilation shall be sufficient to provide adequate oxygen, a
character of freshness in the air and to remove exhaled air and
undesirable odors during periods of student occupancy."
410 IAC 6-5.1-5 Section 5(n) states that any furniture in a school
must be "durable and easily cleanable, with rounded corners and edges,
and otherwise protected to ensure safety." This Secion goes on to
state that "Heights of furniture and equipment shall be based on the
size of students using them."
You may read the Indiana State Department of Health Regulations
online. When you go to the link, click on Article 6. The school
regulations section is
Section 6-5.1. The link is
http://www.ai.org/legislative/iac/title410.html
It's mainly up to individual school districts to determine the rules
for time-out rooms.
For example, Owen Valley High School set up these rules for time-out
rooms: "
A. "Time Out" room (not in-school suspension) 1. Teacher monitoring of
this room 2. Guidelines will be developed to inform teachers of when a
student should be sent to this room, rather than give a discipline
referral. 3. Counseling while in this room, anger management 4. TAT,
SAT 5. Peer mediation
B. Developing a system for collecting data 1. Discipline referrals
sent to counseling office after problem has been dealt with by the
"time out" room and/or the main office. 2. Discipline referrals for
special education students sent to special education department after
problem has been dealt with by the "time out" room and/or the main
office. 3. Possible computer program installed to keep teachers better
informed of discipline actions taken by the office."
You may view these rules online. The link is
<http://www.indiana.edu/~safeschl/owen_h.html>
You may view another teacher’s time out rules online. The link is
<http://www.lsc.k12.in.us/sunnyside/languagearts.html>
Another Indiana high school with a time out room and behavior codes is
also viewable online. The link is
<http://www.elmhurst.fwcs.k12.in.us/behavior_code_information.htm>
Of course, if you have a complaint about how a school district handled
a particular situation involving a time-out room, you have several
avenues you may explore. First, talk with the school district. If you
don't get satisfaction, contact the school district's board of
education. If that doesn't work, you may file an official complaint
with the Indiana Department of Education.
You may view disciplinary complaints to the Indiana Department of
Education and how the State Board of Education handled the situations
online (this includes special education disciplinary actions). The
link is <http://www.doe.state.in.us/legal/pdf/article7ann.pdf>
You may read the Indiana State Board of Education Special Education
Rules Article 511. The link is
<http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:yvRsIM2HJ9EC:www.wayne.k12.in.us/wcjs/Article7_2002.pdf+%22behavioral+intervention+plan%22+idoe&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>
I checked with the U.S. Department of Education's Communications
Department. They do not regulate time-out rooms in particular.
But there are rules when it comes to time-out rooms and MR/DD. This is
what one state rules say about the federal MR/DD guidelines: "The use
of a time out room must be part of an approved BMP and must be
authorized by the IDT, the facility administrator, and the facility's
Human Rights Committee. Time out rooms may be used only under the
following conditions:
a. The room is adequately lighted, ventilated and heated, and is free
of hazards;
b. The person is visually monitored by staff on a continual basis.
Bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets shall not be used as time out rooms;
c. No area which places a person at risk shall be used as a time out
room;
d. The door, if secured by a mechanical device, must be held
continuously by a staff person during the time the person is in time
out. The device should open automatically when not held. This
procedure must be part of an approved BMP and incorporated into the
person's IHP.
e. Placement of a person in a time out room must not exceed one hour.
All use of exclusionary time out will be documented in the person's
record. This documentation shall describe the specific procedure used,
the person's behaviors leading to time out, frequency and duration of
use, staff involved, and QMRP or other staff responsible for the
procedure as well as for monitoring."
Further, this document goes on to state, "E. "Time Out" means the loss
of the opportunity for positive reinforcement for a specified period
of time contingent upon the occurrence of an inappropriate behavior.
F. "Exclusionary Time Out" means the removal of a person from a
situation where positive reinforcement is available to an area where
it is not, contingent upon the occurrence of an inappropriate
behavior. Exiting the area is prevented. In order to be used, this
procedure must be part of an approved behavior management plan and
incorporated in the person's IHP. G. "Time Out Room" means an empty
room in which reinforcement is not available and which is specifically
set aside and constructed for the purpose of exclusionary time out."
This report is available online. The link to this information is
http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/ddd/pdf/policy5.11.pdf
The National Education Association published an article called "Take a
look at 'dis." You may read it online. The link is
<http://www.nea.org/bt/1-students/dis.pdf>
Another good article about this issue is "Effective Use of Time-Out
Procedures To Reduce Child Misbehavior" by Ken Merrell, Ph.D.School
Psychology Program, University of Iowa. The link is
<http://www.uiowa.edu/~schpsych/handouts/time-out.pdf>
I found some interesting court cases involving school discipline. The
link is <http://alpha.fdu.edu/psychology/suspension_notes.htm>
"Time Out For Reinforcement" is another good article at
interventioncentral.com. The link is
<http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/behavior/timeout.shtml>
To conduct this research, I searched the following search terms:
"time-out room" rules, “behavioral intervention plans” IDOE
I hope this helps! If you need any clarification, please do not
hesitate to ask.
darrel-ga |
