The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) recognizes access to the most effective educational strategies as the basic educational right of each child or youth with a disability. CEC believes that the least restrictive positive educational strategies should be always used to respect the child's or youth's dignity and that this especially pertains to the use of physical restraint and seclusion. A physical restraint is defined as any method of one or more persons restricting another person's freedom of movement, physical activity, or normal access to his or her body. It is a means for controlling that person's movement, reconstituting behavioral control, and establishing and maintaining safety for the out-of-control individual, other individuals, and school staff. Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a child or youth alone in a room or area from which the child or youth is physically prevented from leaving. This includes situations where a door is locked as well as where the door is blocked by other objects or held closed by staff. CEC supports the following principles related to the use of physical restraint and seclusion procedures in school settings: (1) Behavioral interventions for children and youth must promote the right of all children and youth to be treated with dignity; (2) All children and youth should receive necessary educational and mental health supports and programming in a safe and least-restrictive environment; (3) Positive and appropriate educational interventions, as well as mental health supports, should be provided routinely to all children and youth who need them; (4) Behavioral interventions should emphasize prevention and positive behavioral supports; (5) Schools should have adequate staffing levels to effectively provide positive supports to children and youth and should be staffed with appropriately trained personnel; (6) All staff in schools should have mandatory conflict de-escalation training; and (7) All children and youth whose pattern of behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others should receive appropriate educational assessment.