Time-Out Practices in Schools: Massachusetts Regulatory Amendments

On June 24, 2025, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (“BESE”) unanimously voted to approve amendments to Massachusetts regulations concerning the use of time-out practices in publicly funded elementary and secondary education programs. Time-out is a behavioral support strategy in which a student is temporarily separated from the learning environment for the purpose of calming, with staff present or immediately available to the student at all times.[1]

The following amendments were approved by BESE with respect to Massachusetts regulations entitled, “Prevention of Physical Restraint and Requirements If Used”:[2]

1. Definition of “Time-Out”: The definition of time-out was updated to include “in an unlocked setting from which the student is permitted to leave.”
2. Requirements for Time-Out Space: Requirements were added that any room or area used for time-out must be of appropriate size for the age and the needs of the student; appropriately lighted, ventilated, and heated or cooled, consistent with other areas of the building; and free of objects or fixtures that are inherently dangerous to the student.
3. Definition of “Seclusion”: The definition of seclusion was amended to clarify that seclusion, the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is not permitted to leave, may occur “with or without adult supervision.”
4. Emergency Circumstances for Seclusion: Massachusetts regulations generally prohibit seclusion of students. However, the new regulations add emergency circumstances under which seclusion may be used as a last resort if a student’s behavior imposes an imminent threat of assault or imminent serious physical harm to self or others (such use of seclusion referred to as an “emergency intervention”), including that emergency intervention is only permitted if, at all times during the emergency, a staff member continuously and actively monitors the student and is immediately available to the student.
5. Safeguards for Emergency Intervention: The regulations include safeguards for the use of emergency interventions in schools, including principal and parental notification, weekly and monthly data reviews, and data reporting to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”).

BESE also approved minor amendments to Massachusetts regulations entitled, “Program and Safety Standards for Approved Public or Private Day and Residential Special Education School Programs,”[3] to align those regulations with the amendments to 603 CMR 46.00, described above.

The effective date for both sets of amended regulations is August 17, 2026. DESE has indicated that it will provide guidance on the updated regulations as well as funding opportunities to aid schools and districts in implementing the regulations.

Please reach out to K&B Education Team attorneys Bettina Toner (btoner@kb- law.com) and Eric Jordan (ejordan@kb-law.com) with any questions or requests you may have regarding time-out or physical restraint practices in Massachusetts public primary and secondary schools, or any other school-related matter.

Krokidas & Bluestein LLP's Education Law Practice provides a full array of advice and guidance to charter schools and other education entities on a wide range of legal matters including student discipline, special education, employment, governance, tax, regulatory and compliance matters, real estate, financing, and litigation.

[1] See 603 CMR 46.02.
[2] See 603 CMR 46.00.
[3] See 603 CMR 18.00.