Appleton reports seclusion and restraint numbers More than 600 incidents happened in 2012-13 school year Aug. 23, 2013 APPLETON, Wisconsin — Staff members at Appleton public schools used seclusion and/or physical restraint 637 times to calm 181 students during the 2012-13 year. Seclusion is defined as the involuntary confinement of a student away from other students in an area where the student “is physically prevented from leaving,” according to the report presented Thursday to the Appleton Area School District’s Programs and Services Committee. Physical restraint “immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to freely move his or her torso, arms, legs or head,” the report said. Students with disabilities accounted for the largest number of seclusions and/or restraints, at 137 total. In comparison, 44 students without a disability required either seclusion, restraint, or both. Though students with disabilities were more likely to be secluded and restrained, Assistant Superintendent Val Dreier said the number represents a small segment of the school district’s disabled population — only 7 percent. Seclusion and/or restraint is mostly used to calm students at the elementary level. Of the 539 incidents among students with disabilities, 491 happened in the elementary grades. All 98 cases involving students without disabilities occurred at the elementary level. The incidents generally decrease as children grow up and mature, Dreier said. Staff members also try to figure out what triggers children’s disruptive behaviors to avoid the need for future seclusion and/or restraint. “Our emphasis is on prevention, assessing the situation and trying to help that person who’s in crisis gain control,” Dreier said. Physical restraint is always a last resort, said Superintendent Lee Allinger. Every school has a team of people trained to respond to incidents where students are in crisis. The team is called before anything drastic, such as restraint, is done. Staff members are trained to use restraint only when students pose an imminent danger to themselves or others. “Restraint immobilizes students. We can’t restrain kids without a reason,” Dreier said. When an incident happens, every staff member involved fills out a form to document the incident and turns the form into the building principal, Dreier said. The student’s parent or guardian is contacted as soon as possible and made aware of what happened. Appleton encourages all staff members to take nonviolent crisis intervention training every two years and mandates it for employees in specific areas. The district records when staff members have taken the training, to ensure it’s as up to date as possible. In 2012-13, 252 district employees had undergone training within the two-year timeframe.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:06:40 +0000
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