Research released this week by the American Association of School Administrators shows that 97 percent of schools have staffs that are trained or certified in performing appropriate seclusion and restraint of students with special needs. However, school employees charged with carrying out the procedures often are put into harm’s way.
“Keeping Schools Safe,” a randomized survey of AASA members conducted in January and February and released March 7, found that 25 percent of school districts responding said an administrator, teacher, paraprofessional, aide or other trained staff member had been physically attacked or threatened by a student. Three in 10 schools said at least five hospitalizations of staff members have occurred within the last five years.
“‘Keeping Schools Safe’ makes clear that, when school personnel use seclusion and restraint, they do it only when it is absolutely necessary, when the alternative is risk of grave injury,” said Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA. “The use of seclusion and restraint should never be commonplace, and it is certainly not a means of punishing bad behavior.”
According to data released March 6 from the Office for Civil Rights, at least 38,792 students were physically restrained during the 2009-2010 school year.
Sarah Pudelski, government affairs manager for AASA and the report’s author, wrote that the association opposes current legislation in the Senate that would prohibit seclusion and restraint. The group believes the practices are vital to enabling students with severe emotional or behavioral conditions to continue to receive free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Pudelski admitted that some school employees make mistakes, some intentional, when it comes to seclusion and restraint, but she said that is the exception and not the rule.
“We advocate for policies that support the 99 percent of school personnel that use seclusion and restraint safely, responsibly and only when circumstances truly demand their application,” she added.
Domenech said the Keeping All Students Safe Act introduced in December 2011 by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) “would undermine the ability of school personnel to effectively manage students with severe behavioral disorders.”
The study also found that 95 percent of school personnel who perform seclusion and restraint are trained in prevention and conflict de-escalation or positive behavioral interventions and supports. Ten percent said they used seclusion and restraint more than five percent of the time in a single school year.
