Senate Bill 5654 makes broad procedural and regulatory changes to how Washington public education providers may use student restraint, isolation (seclusion), and room clears. The bill amends multiple existing statutes (including RCW 28A.600.485; 28A.600.486; 28A.155.210; 28A.320.127; 28A.413.050; 28A.415.445; and 28A.155.250), adds new sections to chapters 28A.600, 28A.300, 28A.410, and 28A.310 RCW, and repeals RCW 28A.415.330. It is primarily a procedural and policy law rather than a criminal statute: it creates new reporting, training, monitoring, and accountability requirements; limits and defines when various forms of restraint and isolation are permitted; and establishes agency duties and timelines. Substantive rules in the bill (as excerpted) define terms (for example, chemical, mechanical, and physical restraint; isolation; imminent likelihood of serious harm; behavioral intervention plan) and prohibit certain interventions (chemical restraint, mechanical restraint except as excluded, life‑threatening holds, noxious sprays, corporal punishment, and isolation/restraint contraindicated by documented plans). Isolation or physical restraint is permitted only when reasonably necessary to control spontaneous behavior posing an “imminent likelihood of serious harm,” using the least amount of force and discontinued as soon as the risk dissipates. Districts must adopt policies requiring the least restrictive interventions, conduct functional behavioral assessments and behavioral intervention planning after incidents, and provide student access to counseling after incidents. The bill requires staff to notify building administrators as soon as possible and submit written incident reports to the district within two business days, principals to notify parents/guardians within 24 hours and provide written documentation within three business days (with some earlier text referencing five business days overwritten by the later three‑day requirement), and districts to submit aggregated summaries to OSPI for public posting and trend analysis. The bill imposes new training and oversight duties: OSPI must approve intensive crisis prevention and response training, publish a model staff training plan by January 1, 2026, review district training plans within three months of receipt, provide technical assistance, fund and monitor demonstration projects and regional coaches, and report annually to the Legislature. Districts and providers must submit a staff training plan to OSPI by August 1, 2026 (with updates Aug. 1, 2027 and annually), prioritize training for staff serving students with disabilities, and follow other requirements (including construction prohibitions on rooms designed solely for isolating students and limits on isolating prekindergarten–grade 5 students). The act creates an exemption process administered by OSPI for the preK–5 isolation prohibition, sets multiple deadlines for exemption claims and approvals, and authorizes OSPI to extend exemption expirations until required training is completed; the extracted materials include inconsistent dates for exemption expiration and extension authority, so the precise expiration timelines are unclear from the provided text. Additional provisions require OSPI to contract for a study of room clears, require board member and educator preparation changes, and make several reporting and implementation deadlines; the act also includes a funding contingency that makes it null and void if specified funding is not provided in the omnibus appropriations act by June 30, 2025. Some sections and required follow‑up elements are truncated or missing in the provided extracts, so details on the full scope of follow‑up procedures, complete training content, certain notification recipients for contracted services, and exact expiration dates for some exemption provisions are uncertain from these excerpts.

If enacted, the bill sharply limits when schools can use isolation or restraint — only to stop behavior that poses an imminent risk of serious harm — and requires districts and other public education providers to adopt least-restrictive policies, quickly report and document every incident, review each incident with the student and family within a week, complete functional behavioral assessments and behavioral intervention plans after incidents, and provide prioritized staff training. Building staff must notify administrators right away and file written reports within two business days, principals must notify parents within 24 hours and send written documentation within days, and districts must summarize and send incident data to OSPI for public posting and trend analysis; OSPI will approve training programs, publish model plans and forms, run demonstration projects and regional coaching (subject to appropriations), and can place providers on improvement plans until they make progress. The bill also phases in prohibitions on isolating pre-K–grade 5 students (beginning August 1, 2027) except under narrow medical/parental authorization, bans planning new rooms designed solely for isolation, and sets multiple deadlines for training plans, OSPI reports, and demonstrations; however, many supports and timelines are contingent on specific appropriations and the act is null and void if not funded by June 30, 2025. The groups most affected are school districts, other public education providers, and their staff, who will incur new administrative workload, training and coaching obligations, and likely costs to shift practices away from isolation and restraint; educational service districts and OSPI will take on expanded oversight, training delivery, and technical assistance duties (with OSPI prioritizing districts that claim exemptions). Families and students—especially young children and students with disabilities—will see faster notifications, mandated incident reviews and post-incident supports, and an intent to reduce use of restrictive interventions. Some implementation details (exact training content, how exemptions will be extended, and certain notification rules when services are contracted) are not fully specified in the extracted text and outcomes depend on whether the Legislature funds the required activities.