Principal Question: Is the pupil seclusion and restraint law binding on private schools?

Answer: The seclusion and physical restraint law (Wisconsin Statute 118.305) applies only to public schools, charter schools and schools in the Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP).

For more information about the seclusion & restraint law and how it functions in practice, what is defined as seclusion and restraint, etc., see the Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) online resource page or FAQ.

Note: Those DPI pages have not been updated to list SNSP schools as being covered. However, the 2015 State Budget added schools in the SNSP to the definition of schools covered by the seclusion & physical restraint law, which was first passed in 2011 — before the SNSP existed.

WCRIS has asked the DPI to update its website with clarifying language.