Janesville School Board to review seclusion and restraint report
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JANESVILLE — Janesville School District staff encountered far fewer instances where they had to seclude and physically restrain public school students during the 2014-15 school year versus the same period in 2013-14.
This information will be presented to the Janesville School Board on Tuesday.
In a memo from Barb Kelley, assistant director of student services, to Superintendent Karen Schulte, Kelley said that seclusion and physical restraint is "the very last effort to work with the student in regaining control of their behavior and in maintaining a safe environment."
Seclusion and restraint reporting is required by Wisconsin Act 125, which was created in September 2012.
The act was created to define seclusion and restraint, as well as conditions for its use, reporting and record keeping requirements in public schools throughout the state.
Districts must report these numbers to the state by Sept. 1 each year.
"Act 125 defines "seclusion" as the involuntary confinement of a pupil, apart from other pupils, in a room or area from which the pupil is physically prevented from leaving," Kelley said in the memo. "Act 125 defines "physical restraint" as a restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a pupil to freely move his or her torso, arms, legs, or head."
Seclusion and restraint methods are used when students are deemed to be so violent or unruly that trained staff members believe they have no alternative.
During the 2014-15 school year, seclusion alone was used at the elementary level 73 times. It was used 228 times during the 2013-14 school year and 235 times during the 2012-13 school year, according to the memo.
At the secondary level, it was never used in both 2014-15 and 2013-14 school years. It was used twice in the 2012-13 school year.
Physical restraint was used 40 times at the elementary level during the 2014-15 school year. It was used 14 times in 2013-14 and 171 in the 2012-13 school year, according to the memo.
At the secondary level it was used twice during the 2014-15 school year. It was used 13 times in 2013-14 and four times in the 2012-13 school year.
Incidents of both seclusion and restraint occurred 82 times at the elementary level in 2014-15. It happened 149 times in 2013-14 and 63 times in 2012-13, according to the memo.
In secondary schools, there were no instances of using both seclusion and restraint in 2014-15 or 2013-14. There was one instance of use in 2012-13.
Forty-three pupils were involved in the incidents at the elementary level in 2014-15. Of those, 36 were students with disabilities. At the secondary level, two pupils were involved in incidents during the 2014-15 school year. Of those, one is a student with disabilities, according to the memo.
The district requires staff who work directly with student behaviors to complete Non-Violent Crisis Intervention training. The training focuses on preventing disruptive behavior by communicating with individuals respectively and with concern for their well-being, according to the memo.
The course provides skills training for staff to manage behavior in a non-violent manner using proactive strategies. During the 2014-15 school year 204 district staff took the training, according to the memo.
"The program teaches physical interventions to be used only as a last resort when an individual presents an imminent danger to self or others and all physical interventions taught are designed to be non-harmful, non-invasive and to maintain the individual's dignity," Kelley said in the memo.