Statement from Legal Services NYC on the Department of Education’s Strengthening of Safety and De-escalation Policies for Students with Trauma 

Legal Services NYC applauds the Panel for Educational Policy and the New York City Department of Education for approving significant amendments to Chancellor’s Regulation A-411, marking a decade of progress since our landmark settlement with the city. These changes represent a transformative shift in how schools support students experiencing behavioral crises and more importantly, reflect changes long sought by many in the advocacy community. 

The updated regulation emphasizes prevention, intervention, and de-escalation over punitive measures. It mandates comprehensive crisis intervention plans, restricts the use of restraints, and requires schools to exhaust all appropriate de-escalation techniques before contacting 911. The changes also preserve parents’ rights to communicate with their children and first responders during crises and maintain transparency by ensuring parents can access incident reports.  

“This is an important step forward in our ongoing fight to not only protect the rights of some of the most at-risk students, but will also call upon schools to pursue approaches that will benefit all students and staff,” said Nelson Mar, Senior Staff Attorney at Legal Services NYC. “These amendments reflect many in the advocacy community’s vision for a more humane, proactive approach to behavioral crises in schools. We look forward to continuing our work with the DOE to create safer, more supportive learning environments.”  

BACKGROUND:  

LSNYC has played a pivotal role in the creation of Chancellor’s Regulation A-411 (“A411”), suing the City of New York, the New York City Department of Education (DOE), and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) in 2013 on behalf of 11 students to stop the inappropriate and illegal practice of calling 911 for the purpose of having students deemed disruptive or in a behavioral crisis sent to hospital emergency rooms when no medical emergency existed. As part of the settlement, the DOE promulgated Chancellor’s Regulation A-411 (“A411”) in 2015, which established protocols for schools calling 911 and mandated the creation of school crisis teams and the implementation of school crisis plans. In addition, the settlement allowed for improved data collection on EMS calls, and the expansion of professional development in crisis de-escalation for DOE staff.