nola.com

Starting this year, Louisiana school districts must install cameras in all special-education classrooms and make changes to their special education policies, under a new state law that puts additional safeguards in place for students with disabilities. Under Act 479, which the Legislature passed this year, schools must place at least one camera in every special-education classroom by next February. The law also puts new restrictions on the practice of physically restraining students with disabilities or putting them in separate “seclusion” rooms. For example, a school nurse or other staffer must visit any student who is secluded or restrained, and school personnel must file detailed incident reports. Those changes take effect Dec. 1, though districts have until next May to submit updated policies to the state. The law also authorizes the state education department to develop a free “crisis intervention” training program for school staffers on how to properly restrain students during emergencies. The changes come after a 2024 report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office found that, despite warnings from advocates and the federal government that using seclusion and restraint in schools can endanger students and potentially violate their rights, the state education department had failed to properly monitor how public schools use the practices.