Is the use of Seclusion rooms and restraint appropriate for children on IEP’s in public education schools when used appropriately and within the laws set forth to govern them?
Seclusion and restraint has been a controversial topic in special education for a long time. Recently there has been more talk over the use of seclusion rooms and restraint on violent children in the public education setting. Many advocates feel that the use of such practices is unjust and unethical, that it violates the fourteenth amendment, and that it puts students at risk for injury or harm. Others however feel that such practices are necessary in certain circumstances. That when a child is causing harm to themselves or others, the use of a seclusion
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It was very traumatizing for him as he does not like to be touched by others. In this case we wrote it into his IEP that the safe room would be used as a strategy to get him to safe place when he is being harmful to himself or others. We place him in the safe room and he is able to calm himself down at an exponential rate compared to when we had to restrain him physically. This is an example of when a safe room is used appropriately and to the benefit of this child. Though we do not touch him physically we take all precautions necessary. There is a scribe writing everything the child and the teacher in charge says while in the safe room. The adult in charge has one hand on the handle of the door at all times and has the child in eye view at all times. Once the child is calm, they are given the choice to remain in the safe room for a few minutes longer with the door open, or they may come out and process with the adult. These are all necessary steps that are taken by me and my staff to ensure that the child’s safety and well being are taken care of as well as the safety of the others in the classroom. Education on the crucial steps and processes of safely using seclusion and restraint is so important. This is why I am so drawn to this topic. With all the controversies surrounding seclusion rooms and the threat of banning them, I feel this controversy needs to be addressed more.
VI. If the student receives special education services and the de-escalation room is used on an emergency basis more than twice a month or a student’s pattern of behavior is emerging that interferes with the achievement of the student’s educational goals and objectives, a team meeting must be called with the case manager and parent to determine the appropriateness of the placement.
It is important for children and young people to be protected from harm within school/college to help them learn and thrive. This can only be achieved when they are healthy, safe and their welfare is promoted.
The scenario describes a student who didn’t know how to regulate his behaviors and didn’t have the strategies that could help the student deescalate before it would get to the point of being aggressive and having to be restrained. The student is showing through his aggressive behavior that he doesn’t feel safe in school and could feel as if the teachers were not there to support him due to the restraining that happens. In the past when I have had experience with students having to be restrained can cause fear within them and to the people around them. When students get to the point where being restrained is the only option the student is at the point where they can’t comprehend and understand what is happening around them. Every teacher wants the point of restrain to be the last possibly action but in order for that strategies need to be implemented prior between the teacher, student, parents, administration and BCBA.
Some discipline issues that teachers and administrators face are; do we set the same rules for all students, and should the students with special needs have the same consequences as general education students. Students with emotional disabilities often have difficulties with behavior in the following areas: work refusal, outburst (real or perceived persecution). I believe each situation needs to evaluated to determine the consequence of each student. Discipline decisions and actions can vary, such as, if a special needs student is out of class due to discipline issues then the teacher should make sure it is documented for the time they are removed from the classroom, if they are out for more than ten days an ARD meeting needs to be scheduled to look at changes that need to be made and a plan of action needs to take place to help the student be more successful. Some techniques that can be used are, involve all of the students in the
Using the Safe Schools Act of 1994, the Act simply denotes the goal of reducing school violence. Rather than allowing schools to formulate their own rules of reducing violence, the Act should provide guidelines to how much security is needed to accommodate different youth populations in different school districts. Not only should the amount of security be taken into consideration, if schools were to allow SROs to patrol campus grounds, the Act should also mandate schools officials to recruit SROs that have been trained or experienced in juvenile delinquency. Having knowledge in juvenile delinquency is imperative as it allows SROs the skillset to engage with youth to de-escalate misbehaviors in classrooms, rather than escalating to physical entrainment or arrest that will serve as a permanent trauma for
Thanks for choosing this as your topic for your advocacy paper. I have never really considered these topics. If I were a member of a school board I would want to know the exact reasoning for the use of both restraints and seclusion in any situation. It is my own personal opinion that the use of restraints should only be used in case of an emergency. I agree with the Washington State Statute that says, Washington law (WAC 246-337-110) states, "both restraint and seclusion measures should only be used in emergency situations”
In his article "Mental Health Services a Defense against School Violence," Robert Ross claims that the violent acts performed in schools should not be reduced only by increasing the security system, but also by reinforcing the importance to establish a prevention program in order to detect, help and support kids and adults with mental or physical problems. His argument is a claim of policy. Through Ross’ expert opinion it can be concluded that there is constant violence in American schools, and how aggressive behavior from some individuals affects society and problems can be avoided before they happen or emerge; therefore, his warrants are supported by backing. His article is supported by sufficient expert opinion, examples and statistics.
Federal legislators flied House Bill 4247 and Senate Bill 2860 in order to raise the practice standards in public schools regarding seclusion and restraint. The House bill “The Preventing Harmful Restraint and
Agencies have been regulating policies to help advocate the reduction of seclusions and/or restraint within the mental health setting due to all the associated risk factors and non-beneficial outcomes due to this practice (Timbo et.al., 2015, p. 771). After reviewing multiple articles the majority have the same concern, which is the risk factors associated with restraints and seclusions and the impact it may have on the patient themselves and/or the involved staff member(s). Secluding and restraining a child does not only involve the staff member affects that staff member who had to perform the act on a child or adolescent. Deveau and Leitch draw to our attention that “restraints are distressing to witnesses and many children who have experienced previous trauma abuse” (2014, p. 588). Re-traumatizing the patient will interfere with a patient’s set treatment plan; this setback is not in the best interest of the
The issue is when you have more police, security and metal detectors than counselors and teachers. This alone brings about a psychological effect to a kid. Eventually one will erupt with hate. It’s not a matter of when. It’s the consequences of whom this systemic designed hate will be unleashed upon. This creates a culture of fear. And I cannot or will not be anything attitude. The disappointing matter of a fact is the best don’t make it out. The best usually get caught in the pipeline. The aspect of discipline is based on the students and the systemic system they prey on students for future wealth of modern day slavery that is called prison.
Schools need to maintain a disciplined and safe learning environment. There are many disciplinary actions that are in use today and although some can disagree about the amount of discipline that is best for maturing children, it is reasonable to be in agreement that a positive learning environment begins with physical and emotional safety. School safety includes a broad range of matters, including, fighting, bullying, drugs, alcohol, weapons, and etc. Many schools use varying methods in an effort to maintain school safety. Some schools limit school access and require all visitors to sign in. Physical surveillance is another common method of addressing school safety issues along with use of staff and student identification. Among all these
From the amount of school shootings that have occurred in the past 5 years, as well as a plethora of unpublicized acts of intimidation, threat, and simple assault occurring in the classroom, it is reasonable to conclude that for many young children, school is not the safe haven that it was once believed to be. Instead, it is a place of constant fear, where the possibility of harm is an undeniable threat.
Student behavior and discipline in the classroom have been impacted by legislation and litigation as was discussed in an article written by Mitchell Yell and Michael Rozalski, The Impact of Legislation and Litigation on Disciple and Student Behavior in the Classroom. The authors believe that all students should receive their education in safe, orderly, and well-disciplined schools but maintaining these environments has become a major challenge for educators (Yell, M & Rozalski, M, 2008). Most states have laws that govern discipline in schools which also protect the rights of students in public education (Yell, et.al, 2008). These state laws control the actions of school officials when they carry out certain discipline-related functions, such as gathering evidence (e.g., searching students, their lockers, or their personal property), seizing contraband from students’ backpacks, or conducting any administrative actions that restrict a student’s property interest to attend school (e.g., suspension, expulsion) (Yell, et.al, 2008). A student’s entitlement under state law to a public education is
During the past decade, school safety has been at the forefront of many school districts safety polices and plans. With recent high profile school shootings, the question school districts continue to ask is how do we keep our schools safe? Administrators face heavy scrutiny when weighing approaches to school safety and student discipline. Likewise, school employees have the right to work in safe environments devoid of life-threatening behaviors (Fenning and Bohanon, 2006; Skiba and Rausch, 2006). America’s founding fathers understood the importance of a public school education. They believed educating its citizens would allow them the opportunity to learn new skills while becoming successful and productive people in society. However, our founding fathers did not predict the severe behavior changes our schools face in educating disruptive and dangerous students. America’s school districts are charged with providing solutions for disruptive and dangerous students (Fenning and Bohanon, 2006; Skiba and Rausch, 2006). School officials must address these issues with research-based interventions and collaborative resources that provide a safe learning environment for all stakeholders (Elliott and Mihalic, 2004; Schoenwald and Hoagwood, 2001). Boards of education continue to support school efforts to rethink best practices for disciplinary alternative middle schools (DAMS). Many school districts focus on research-based interventions and resources that manage aggression and
School discipline is to ensure that students and the campus staff are safe and peaceful. According to the U.S. Department of Education on Rethinking Discipline (2017), “Teachers and students deserve school environments that are safe, supportive, and conducive to teaching and learning.” The idea is to decrease bad behavior and school violence which will lead to fewer suspensions and expulsions. There are rules and limitations when it comes to student discipline; there are acts in which students can and must be disciplined. For examples, if a student quality’s for special needs some different guidelines protect them under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA). Furthermore, the Education Code, Section 48900 was implied to discipline students who committed any wrongful doing such as attempting or threatening to physical harm another person. In the case f any wrongfulness, the student is forced to be disciplined by being suspended or expulsed from school.