Restraint and Seclusion Laws in Mississippi
What are the restraint and seclusion rules in Mississippi?
Mississippi regulates the use of restraint and seclusion in schools under Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65, which was enacted to provide explicit statutory protections for all students including those with disabilities. Under § 37-11-65, physical restraint may only be used in an emergency situation to prevent imminent harm to the student, other students, or staff, and only when less restrictive interventions have been exhausted or would be ineffective. Seclusion (placing a student alone in a locked room or space from which they cannot leave) is prohibited in Mississippi public schools under § 37-11-65. Each incident of physical restraint must be documented, and parents must be notified as soon as practicable but no later than the end of the school day on which the restraint occurred (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65). For students with IEPs, repeated use of physical restraint should trigger a review of the student's behavioral supports, including consideration of an FBA and BIP revision (MS Sp. Ed. Regs.; MDE Guidance). Mississippi's prohibition on seclusion is a state-specific protection that goes beyond the federal baseline, as IDEA does not specifically prohibit seclusion.
What Mississippi Requires
Physical restraint may only be used in an emergency to prevent imminent physical harm, and only when less restrictive interventions have been exhausted or are not feasible (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Seclusion — placing a student alone in a locked room or space from which they cannot exit — is prohibited in Mississippi public schools (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Each incident of physical restraint must be documented with a written incident report (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Parents must be notified of any physical restraint incident as soon as practicable but no later than the end of the school day on which the restraint occurred (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
For students with IEPs, repeated restraint incidents must trigger a review of the student's behavioral intervention plan and, if appropriate, a new or updated FBA (MS Sp. Ed. Regs.; MDE Guidance).
Prone (face-down) restraints and restraints that restrict a student's ability to breathe are prohibited under Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65.
Key Timelines
Parent notification of restraint: no later than the end of the school day on which the restraint occurred (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Incident report for each restraint: must be completed promptly and maintained in the student's file (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-11-65).
Repeated restraint incidents should trigger an IEP team review of behavioral supports; specific triggering threshold is addressed in MDE guidance.