Complaint Summary

Date Findings Report Sent

August 6, 2026

Case Number

26-0785

School District

Greenwich Public Schools

Person filing complaint

Advocate

Grade Level

The Student was 9 years old and is entering fifth grade

Allegation(s)

• The Parent alleges that emergency restraints were used on the Student on May 14, 2026, and June 19, 2026. The Parent claims that the incidents were not documented accurately, nor were the staff involved appropriately trained. (CGS § 10-236b(b)and RCSA § 10-76b-10)
• The Parent claims that the District failed to produce the Student’s records, including documentation of May 14, 2026, restraint prior to the June 18, 2026, PPT meeting. (RCSA § 10-76d-18)
• According to the Parent, the District failed to consistently provide the Student with language/communication services as written in his IEP during the 2025-2026 academic school year. Additionally, the District failed to conduct a functional behavior assessment and to develop a behavior intervention plan to address behaviors that interfered with the Student’s learning. (34 CFR §§ 300.323(c)(2) and 300.17(d), RCSA § 10-76d-1(a)(3))

Conclusion(s)

Based on the information provided, the District complied with Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-236b(b) and (j)(1) regarding the use of physical restraint on May 14, 2026, and June 19, 2026. In both incidents, staff attempted less restrictive interventions prior to restraint, the restraint was implemented only in response to imminent risk, and the Parent was notified within the required 24‑hour period. The District also ensured that restraint reports were sent home the same day. Although the District stated that Incident Reports of Emergency Restraint were accessible to the Parent through the CT-SEDS Parent Portal, these reports are not available in that system; however, the District did comply with mailing the reports directly.

However, the investigation determined that not all staff members responsible for implementing or witnessing the restraint were current with required training. Specifically, the school nurse involved in the May 14, 2026, incident had an expired certification, and her training last occurred in November 2023. Because RCSA § 10‑76b‑10 requires that only trained personnel administer or assist with physical restraint or seclusion, the District is in violation of this regulation. Therefore, the District is in violation of RCSA § 10‑76b‑10. Corrective action is required.

Based on the information reviewed, the District fulfilled its obligations under RCSA § 10‑76d‑18 regarding the Parent’s request for records related to the May 14, 2026, restraint incident. The District provided the Incident Report of Emergency Restraint on May 14 and May 15, 2026; school-based incident reports and staff notes on May 26, 2026; nursing documentation on June 19, 2026; and appropriately informed the Parent on June 2, 2026 that no video footage existed because there are no cameras in the location where the restraint occurred. As the District responded within the timelines required by regulation and provided all existing records subject to disclosure, there is no violation of RCSA § 10‑76d‑18. No corrective action is required.

According to the Student’s IEP developed on October 1, 2025, the Student was to receive language/communication services once per week for 30 minutes in a separate setting with a speech and language pathologist or a speech and language pathologist associate. The District experienced vacancies in speech and language pathologist positions that impacted on the delivery of services to the Student. The first vacancy was from August 27, 2025 – January 22, 2026. The second vacancy was from February 12, 2026 – May 6, 2026. Based upon service tracking logs from August 2025 – May 2026, 14.5 hours of compensatory language/communication hours are owed with the speech and language pathologist. The timeline for completion is October, 2026.

Beginning in April 2026, the Student demonstrated an increase in isolated behavioral incidents that continued through June 2026. At the PPT meeting convened on June 2, 2026, the team reviewed and revised the Student’s IEP and determined that a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) was necessary to evaluate the Student’s behavioral needs and to assess whether the development of a behavioral intervention plan (BIP) was warranted. A subsequent PPT meeting was held on June 18, 2026 to review the Student’s educational program, during which the FBA was discussed and the Parent requested that the assessment commence immediately. The District declined to initiate the FBA during the final two days of the academic year. The PPT recommended the development of an interim safety plan to “protect” the Student pending completion of the FBA. Although the Parent initially provided input into the plan, he declined to approve its implementation until it could be reviewed at a follow-up PPT meeting on June 24, 2026, after the conclusion of the 2025–2026 school year.The issues regarding the timing of the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and the interim safety plan do not constitute violations of these provisions; the District’s violation is limited to the failure to deliver the IEP mandated language/communication services.

Corrective action is therefore required to address the missed services.

Corrective Actions

• The District shall submit the following documentation to the Bureau of Special Education: (1) evidence that all staff responsible for implementing physical restraint or seclusion have successfully completed the required state training; and (2) a description of the monitoring procedures the District has established to ensure ongoing compliance with RCSA § 10‑76b‑10. The submission must be detailed enough for the Bureau to verify that each corrective action has been fully implemented. All materials shall be submitted electronically no later than October 15, 2026.
• Additionally, the District must communicate to all staff that Incident Reports of Emergency Restraint/Seclusion are not available to parents through the Parent Portal in CT-SEDS. This can be done through professional development or through email. The District will inform this office once the information has been shared
• To remedy the District’s failure to provide the Student’s speech and language services in accordance with the IEP, the District must develop and implement a compensatory education plan that ensures the Student receives all remaining missed sessions. This plan must include the delivery of the 14.5 outstanding speech and language service hours at the start of the 2026–27 academic school year, provided by a qualified speech and language pathologist, in the setting specified in the Student’s IEP. The District must maintain detailed documentation of each compensatory session delivered and submit verification to the Department upon completion. The compensatory education plan must also include ongoing monitoring of the Student’s progress to ensure that the services sufficiently address any loss of skills or regression resulting from the missed sessions.