Virginia Law

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Behavioral intervention plan" or "BIP" means a plan that utilizes positive behavioral interventions and supports to address (i) behaviors that interfere with a student's learning or that of others or (ii) behaviors that require disciplinary action.

"Board" means the Virginia Board of Education.

"Business day" means Monday through Friday, 12 months of the year, exclusive of federal and state holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business days).

"Chapter" means these regulations, that is, Regulations Governing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in Virginia, 8VAC20-750.

"Calendar days" means consecutive days, inclusive of Saturdays and Sundays. Whenever any period of time fixed by this chapter expires on a Saturday, Sunday, federal holiday, or state holiday, the period of time for taking such action shall be extended to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, federal holiday, or state holiday.

"Child with a disability" or "student with a disability" means a public elementary or secondary school student evaluated in accordance with the provisions of 8VAC20-81 as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disability (referred to in 8VAC20-81 as an emotional disability), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities who, by reason thereof, requires special education and related services. This also includes developmental delay if the school division recognizes this category as a disability under 8VAC20-81-80 M 3. If it is determined through an appropriate evaluation that a child has one of the disabilities identified but only needs related services and not special education, the child is not a child with a disability under 8VAC20-81. If the related service required by the child is considered special education rather than a related service under Virginia standards, the child would be determined to be a child with a disability. As used in this chapter, the disability categories set forth in this definition and the terms "special education" and "related services" shall have the meanings set forth in 8VAC20-81-10.

"Day" means calendar day unless otherwise designated as business day or school day.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of Education.

"Evaluation" means procedures used in accordance with 8VAC20-81 to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services the child needs.

"Functional behavioral assessment" or "FBA" means a process to determine the underlying cause or functions of a student's behavior that impede the learning of the student or the learning of the student's peers. A functional behavioral assessment may include a review of existing data or new testing data or evaluation as determined as set forth in 8VAC20-750-70.

"Individualized education program" or "IEP" means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised at least annually in a team meeting in accordance with the Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia (8VAC20-81). The IEP specifies the individual educational needs of the child and what special education and related services are necessary to meet the child's educational needs.

"Individualized education program team" or "IEP team" means a group of individuals described in 8VAC20-81-110 that is responsible for developing, reviewing, or revising an IEP for a child with a disability.

"School day" means any day, including a partial day, that students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. The term has the same meaning for all students in school, including students with and without disabilities.

"School personnel" means individuals employed by the school division on a full-time or part-time basis or as independent contractors or subcontractors as instructional, administrative, and support personnel and include individuals serving as a student teacher or intern under the supervision of appropriate school personnel.

"Section 504 plan" means a written plan of modifications and accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC § 794).

"Student" means any student, with or without a disability, enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school as defined in § 22.1-1 of the Code of Virginia.

1. For purposes of this chapter, the term "student" shall also include those students (i) attending a public school on a less-than-full-time basis, such as those students identified in § 22.1-253.13:2 N of the Code of Virginia; (ii) receiving homebound instruction pursuant to 8VAC20-131-180 and as defined in 8VAC20-81-10, without regard to special education status; (iii) receiving home-based instruction pursuant to 8VAC20-81-10; and (iv) who are preschool students enrolled in a program operated by a school division or receiving services from school personnel.

2. As used in this chapter, "student" shall not include children meeting compulsory attendance requirements of § 22.1-254 of the Code of Virginia by (i) enrollment in private, denominational, or parochial schools; (ii) receipt of instruction by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education and approved by the relevant division superintendent; (iii) receipt of home instruction pursuant to § 22.1-254 of the Code of Virginia or (iv) receipt of instruction in a secure facility or detention home as defined in § 16.1-228 of the Code of Virginia or in a facility operated by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. With regard to restraint and seclusion, students placed through public or private means in a private day or residential school for students with -disabilities shall be afforded the protections set forth in 8VAC20-671.

"Traumatic brain injury" means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force or by other medical conditions, including stroke, anoxia, infectious disease, aneurysm, brain tumors, and neurological insults resulting from medical or surgical treatments, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. "Traumatic brain injury" applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. "Traumatic brain injury" does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.