Bills take on seclusion, restraint of students

A group of bills introduced in early March will make secluding or restraining a student illegal outside of emergencies situations, and require training and consistent reporting when it happens.

Local school districts say they’re already following state policy limiting the seclusion or restraint of students, and have few to no reports of said occurrences.

When polled by the Times Herald, only one school district in St. Clair and Sanilac counties — East China School District — could list any reported instances of seclusion or restraint among special education students in the 2014-15 school year.

And although school districts already are required to report instances of restraint and seclusion to the U.S. Department of Education, only four of the about 15 districts in St. Clair and Sanilac counties reported any incidents in the 2011-12 school year — the most recent federal data available.

But some argue that doesn’t mean students aren’t being restrained or secluded. It may just go unreported.

"I think it absolutely is an issue and I think underreporting really is a problem so I’m really encourage by the inclusion of reporting requirements," said Rodd Monts, field director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

"I think the legislation provides a framework for better data collection and better treatment of our students.”

The Port Huron Area School District said it began this year a more comprehensive collection of data on restraint or seclusion. The district said it did not have comprehensive numbers to share for 2014-15.

“We have followed the guidance from the MDE since it came out,” said Tracie Eschenburg, Port Huron Schools executive director of employee and student services. “However, we didn’t have a clear and consistent way to report it … That’s what we revised.”

Lawmakers hope the proposed legislation will eliminate the use of restraint or seclusion altogether, and ensure — when it is needed — that it’s reported consistently and promptly.

Legislation rooted in parent concern

The proposed legislation banning seclusion and restraint was recommended in a 2016 report given to Gov. Rick Snyder from the Special Education Reform Task Force.

The task force, headed by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, developed the report after a 2015 statewide listening tour. Among the findings of the task force, ending the practices of restraint and seclusion was listed as one of five priorities.

“The survey that we did with parents in 2015 showed that about a quarter of parents reported that their kids had been subject to restraints and seclusion rooms,” Calley said in a phone interview Thursday. “That really did inspire us to take this step.”

Restraint commonly refers to an effort by school personnel to restrict the movement of a student through physical contact. It’s supposed to be used only in emergency situations — to break up a fight, disarm a student with a weapon, or prevent students from hurting themselves.

Seclusion is used to confine a student in a room or space until that student can regain control of him- or herself.

The Michigan Department of Education introduced policy in 2006 regarding the emergency use of restraint or seclusion.

The policy was introduced in the wake of two deaths in 2003 of Michigan students who had been restrained, but the rules were merely a suggestion and not law.

“When (seclusion or restraint) happens, we want to make sure that the right people are doing it, that they're trained to keep the kids safe and themselves safe as well,” said Traci Chapman, director for the MDE Office of Special Education.

The task force’s January report recommended legislation that would require better training for school personnel who might be required to employ emergency restraint or seclusion, the documentation of any incidents of restraint or seclusion, and the reporting of those incidents to parents and the MDE.

“A natural outgrowth of that is to take the state policy regarding the use of emergency seclusion and restraint and codify that into law,” Calley said.

In early March, a series of House Bills were introduced to do just that.

The bills define emergency seclusion and restraint, emphasize them as last resorts, and require training for school personnel required to employ emergency restraint or seclusion. They also require intermediate school districts to develop emergency intervention plans in line with the state and post those plans on the intermediate school district website.

The bills limit seclusion to 15 minutes in elementary school and 20 minutes in middle school or high school. It limits emergency restraint to no longer than 10 minutes.

Monts said the ACLU has been working for some time to encourage tighter restrictions on the use of seclusion and restraint.

"There may be some times that that child’s needs are so severe and they act out and they need to be restrained," Monts said.

"Those times should be rare and should be taken very seriously. This legislation realizes that."

The legislation also requires schools to document instances of emergency seclusion or restraint, and report those instances to parents and the state.

“I do not believe that the majority of restraint and seclusion instances are reported in any way, shape or form,” Calley said.

Laws would apply to general, special education students

The MDE stressed that, although the legislation regarding seclusion and restraint arose from a special education task force, the new rules would apply to both general education and special education students.

“If there are going to be restraint or seclusion processes in place in districts, it is for all students,” Chapman said.

Eschenburg said in 2014-15 some Port Huron Schools staff members and administrators were trained in crisis prevention and in the documentation of any instance of seclusion and restraint. Eschenburg said, in an emergency situation requiring seclusion or restraint, other support staff could be brought in to help.

“Whenever you seclude or restrain a child there should be multiple adults involved so you’re not necessarily relying on one person to report it,” Eschenburg said.

Al Latosz, assistant superintendent at Algonac Community Schools, said Algonac schools have similar protocol.

“A lot of times, in those situations, if you had some pretty severe kids, the likelihood is you would have a paraprofessional in there, a social worker in there,” Latosz said.

Many local school districts follow state guidelines on the emergency use of restraint and seclusion; others follow regional or school district guidelines that closely resemble state policy.

“If there’s imminent danger to the student or others then seclusion or restraint may be appropriate, and even then it’s not always appropriate,” Eschenburg said. “And it should only be done by someone who’s fully trained.”

Many St. Clair County schools receive training through the St. Clair County Regional Educational Services Agency for building administrators or staff members working with students with disabilities.

“RESA has offered training to all districts in St. Clair (County) in the appropriate use of seclusion and restraint, and all associated requirements under the law,” Cynthia Raymo, director of special education for RESA, said in an email.

Latosz said teachers avoid seclusion and restraint as much as possible.

“We use it as a last resort,” Latosz said.

“I really do think if you talk to our special ed teachers, just because of the scrutiny it comes under, they’re scared to death to put their hands on a kid.”

David Phillips is director of special education for Capac, Yale and Memphis schools. He also has worked in special education for East China, Port Huron and Marysville.

Phillips said he thinks the new laws will be a good addition to existing policy; however, he doesn't necessarily believe incidents of seclusion and restraint are going unreported in area schools.

He said area teachers receiving crisis prevention training are learning to defuse situations before emergency seclusion or restraint become necessary.

"I think absolutely we need guiding principles," Phillips said.

"There was a lot of disagreement and confusion about what restraint or seclusion really meant ... It really helped to have an MDE definition and a legal definition that everybody could rally around.”

Data scarce on seclusion, restraint

Each school is required to report instances of seclusion and restraint to the U.S. Department of Education every other year, according to a department spokesman. But the federal data shows few instances at many of the area's school districts.

In 2011-12 data from the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection, only four districts in St. Clair and Sanilac counties reported instances of seclusion and restraint: Capac, East China, Memphis, and Peck.

According to that 2011-12 data, Capac schools reported seven instances of restraint and 13 instances of seclusion; East China schools reported 18 instances of restraint and six instances of seclusion; Memphis reported two instances of restraint; and Peck schools reported three instances of restraint.

Across Michigan, schools reported 3,172 students who were restrained and 2,034 who were secluded, according to the 2011-12 U.S. Department of Education data.

When the Times Herald asked school districts in St. Clair and Sanilac counties for 2014-15 numbers regarding seclusion or restraint of students with disabilities, East China School District was the only district that listed any reports.

East China schools reported three instances of seclusion, and three instances of restraint in 2014-15.

Some area school officials said they had no reported instances in 2014-15, while other school officials were unsure of the existence of any reports as they were new to the position.

Dawn Demick, executive director of personnel for East China schools, said staff members at the school are trained in non-violent crisis intervention and follow RESA guidelines for emergency seclusion and restraint.

"We only do it when necessary, but there are going to be cases where it is necessary," Demick said.

Many school districts said instances of seclusion or restraint were reported directly to parents or to building administrators when they happened.

“Teachers complete incident reports for instances of discipline and for any instances of seclusion or restraint,” Capac schools Superintendent Stephen Bigelow said in an email.

“Reports are sent to building administrators to communicate with parents.”

Although the state department of education has policy related to seclusion and restraint, school districts currently aren’t mandated to report instances to the state.

Calley said consistent reporting of seclusion and restraint incidents adds a level of accountability and will help schools to recognize what triggered the behavior that led to the emergency action. He said the information can help schools to develop best practices to prevent such occurrences.

“There’s a lot that we can learn and we need to learn about every instance where a child needs to be restrained or separated into a seclusion room,” Calley said.

A bigger picture, a new approach

The legislation regarding seclusion and restraint is just part of the state’s overall movement toward breaking down the barriers between general education and special education, and creating a multi-tiered system of support tailored to each child, Calley said.

“Two kids with autism do not have exactly the same type and amount of needs,” Calley said. “The plan around each child should be individualized.”

Calley said the multi-tiered support system and positive behavior intervention supports are focused on state special education, but the idea is applicable to all students.

“The line between special education and general education becomes much less important or obvious because every single student has a different level of need, regardless of whether they qualify for special education,” Calley said.

Contact Beth LeBlanc at (810) 989-6259 or eleblanc@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @THBethLeBlanc.