On December 4, 2023,  PDE Bureau of Special Education Director Carole L. Clancy sent a PennLink to all LEAs titled 2023-24 School Year Restraint Information System Collection Tracking and Training Second Quarter Reporting Window. The memo says that the Restraint Information System Collection (RISC) is open for data entry for the second quarter (restraints occurring between October 1, 2023 – January 15, 2024, of the 2023-24 school year). The RISC program has been enhanced and gives local educational agencies (LEAs) greater opportunity to provide both more detail about restraints and to analyze trends in reducing the use of physical restraints.

LEAs are required to report RISC data quarterly during the 2023-24 school year. This includes reporting zero restraints during a quarter when restraints did not occur. Additionally, LEAs still are required to comply with 22 Pa. Code § 14.133(f) or 22 Pa. Code § 711.46(f) Positive Behavior Support related to training of personnel in specific procedures, methods, and techniques. However, 22 Pa. Code § 14.133(f) and 22 Pa. Code § 711.46(f) Positive Behavior Support does not require LEAs to acquire specific certification in the use of restraints and leaves this up to the LEAs and their specific training model. The training of personnel should provide varied intervention and strategies needed to address problem behaviors. The types of intervention chosen for a specific student or eligible young child shall be the least intrusive necessary. The use of restraints is considered a measure of last resort, only to be used after other less restrictive measures, including de-escalation techniques.

The Bureau of Special Education (BSE) continues to require LEAs to report the restraints that occurred in each quarter. This reporting process permits LEAs to report restraints in a timely manner which, in turn, allows LEAs to monitor patterns of episodic behaviors and address them accordingly.

The quarterly windows of reporting for the 2023-24 school year are as follows:

Quarter	Begin Date	End Date	Last Day to Report	Zero Window Opens	Zero Window Closes
1	07/01/2023	09/30/2023	10/19/2023	10/01/2023	10/18/2023
2	10/01/2023	12/31/2023	01/15/2024	01/01/2024	01/15/2024
3	01/01/2024	03/31/2024	04/14/2024	04/01/2024	04/14/2024
4	04/01/2024	06/30/2024	07/14/2024	07/01/2024	07/14/2024

The RISC reporting design provides an “End Date” for LEAs to comply with their end of quarterly reporting. In addition, there is a two-week window date labeled “Last Day to Report” to allow LEAs to gather and report on those students that attend an out-of-district facility where they were placed in a restraint during that quarter. This two-week period is also a designated time for LEAs that had no restraints during the quarter to report zero in RISC. BSE will continue to send out reminder PENN*LINKS about this quarterly reporting requirement.

BSE will monitor the restraint information reported by LEAs. RISC requires each LEA to report the event that occurred prior to the incident, the incident, the unsafe behavior, and the de-escalation techniques used. The LEA must notify the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the use of a restraint and schedule an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting within 10 school days of the use of the restraint in the educational program, unless the parent(s)/guardian(s), after written notice, agree(s) in writing to waive the IEP meeting. Restraints occurring during Extended School Year sessions should be reported within three weeks of the start of the school year.

In reviewing restraints submitted in RISC of school-age students with IEPs, the Special Education Advisers of BSE will continue to focus on LEA monitoring responsibilities, as well as:

• Training of staff in de-escalation techniques;
• Excessive time of restraint;
• Excessive use of parent/guardian waivers;
• Mechanical restraints;
• Injuries;
• Number of restraints;
• 10-day window (school days) to convene an IEP meeting after a restraint occurs; and
• Handcuffing of students, students tased, or students charged with a safe school’s offense;
• Excessive law enforcement involved in restraints with staff not involved.

A RISC reporting webinar is posted on the RISC website: apps.leaderservices.com/_risc/index.aspx. This RISC reporting webinar link is located below the login box of the Leader Services RISC sign-in page. This webinar explains the reporting and investigation process and how to use the RISC program. The webinar also shares how to update your LEA’s contact information. All parties involved with RISC are highly encouraged to view this webinar to learn how to report restraints, how to use the system, and to understand the regulatory responsibility of LEAs. 

Additionally, the Bureau of Special Education has recently updated the Restraint Information System of Collection (RISC) Program Guidelines. The “RISC Program Guidelines” are available for review on the RISC website.

Questions regarding RISC should be directed to Keith Focht: 717-783-6921 or [email protected] or to the RISC Resource Account – [email protected].

According to PA Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, PA’s payment error rate for Medicaid has significantly improved since 2019 and now stands at 2.49 percent compared to 8.85 percent nationally. This makes PA’s rate among the lowest in the country.

Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) reviews are conducted every three years and measure improper payments for Medicaid and CHIP. For Pennsylvania’s most recently completed review cycle in 2022, the Medicaid improper payment rate was 2.49 percent and the CHIP improper payment rate was 5.58 percent. Those numbers are significantly lower than the newly reported federal figures for 2023 which show the national Medicaid improper payment rate is 8.85 percent, and the national CHIP improper payment rate is 12.81 percent.

These numbers also showed significant improvement over the 2019 review cycle, when Pennsylvania Medicaid error rate was 14.24 percent and the CHIP error rate was 20.67 percent. The national rates for Medicaid and CHIP were 14.90 percent and 15.83 percent, respectively.

Federal agencies are required to review programs they administer and identify those that may be susceptible to significant improper payments, estimate any improper payments, submit those estimates to Congress, and submit a report on actions the agency is taking to reduce the improper payments. Medicaid and CHIP are programs at risk for significant improper payments because of the large volume of services and expenditures involved.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the PERM program to comply with oversight and reporting requirements. PERM does not measure fraud; it is a measurement of payments made that did not meet legal, regulatory, or administrative requirements and may be overpayments or underpayments.

To learn more about Medicaid, CHIP and how to apply for health coverage, visit dhs.pa.gov.