OCR found the district violated Section 504 and Title II by placing students with disabilities in a nonpublic school where one student died following a prolonged restraint, and by failing to monitor or visit those placements after receiving notice of repeated restraint use.

Davis Joint Unified School District — Restraint/Seclusion, FAPE Denial, Student Death (2017–2019)

Outcome: OCR found the district violated Section 504 and ADA Title II by failing to monitor nonpublic school placements where a student with disabilities died following a prolonged restraint; the district entered a resolution agreement requiring comprehensive policy, procedure, and training reforms.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigated Davis Joint Unified School District in California for its practices related to the use of restraint and seclusion during the 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 school years. The district serves students in Davis, California (Yolo County) and is responsible for ensuring that students it places in nonpublic school settings receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

OCR found that the district placed at least three students with disabilities in nonpublic school settings and violated their rights under Section 504 and Title II. The most serious finding was that one student died following a prolonged restraint at a nonpublic school where the district had placed the student — and the district had received prior written notification of at least four prior restraint incidents at that placement but had not conducted any site visits following those notifications.

The district's failure to monitor was a central violation: under Section 504 and Title II, a school district retains responsibility for students it places in nonpublic settings. Upon receiving notice that restraint was being repeatedly used on one of its students, the district was obligated to investigate and take corrective action. It did not. The student's death occurred in the context of a restraint that was preceded by a documented history of prior restraints of which the district was aware.

OCR also found broader compliance concerns about the district's policies and training related to restraint and seclusion across its directly operated programs. The district agreed to resolve all identified violations by making comprehensive changes to its policies, procedures, and staff training requirements regarding the use of restraint and seclusion, and to establish monitoring and oversight mechanisms for students placed in nonpublic school settings.

Primary Source: OCR Resolution Letter — Davis Joint Unified School District, Case No. 09-19-5001