Wed Jun 17 2020, 6:00pm
Zoom Webinar
Regular Meeting

REPORTS TO THE BOARD

Policy 3246— Use of Reasonable Force Annual Report

To:  Michael Green

From: Jake Hall, Executive Director of Learning Supports and Alternatives

Regarding: Annual Report on Use of Reasonable Force

Date: June 17, 2020

USE OF REASONABLE FORCE, ISOLATION, AND RESTRAINT -- Policy 3246

Per policy 3246, “District staff may use isolation, restraint, and other forms of reasonable force only when reasonably necessary to control spontaneous behavior that poses an imminent likelihood of serious harm.” While some specifically trained staff do need to use some force in some rare occasions to keep students and staff safe, the district takes precautions, utilizes Crisis Prevention training, and always submits an incident-review report to the superintendent (3246F). Each incident is reviewed carefully by our Behavior Specialist and Crisis Response trainer, input into Skyward, our computer database system and ultimately we report the data to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). 

Here is the data on Isolation and Restraint from the 2019-20 school year:

  • The number of individual incidents of restraint and isolation: 89 
  • The number of students involved in the incidents: 10
  • The number of injuries to students: 0
  • The number of injuries to staff: 1
  • The types of restraint or isolation used:
    • 1 person restraint
    • 2 person seated restraint
    • 2 person standing restraint
    • Designated Isolation room

The district has been planning and delivering ongoing Crisis Prevention training (CPI Training) for all staff who conduct isolation and restraint. Every two years staff who are trained must take and successfully complete the 8-hour certification training, while every other year staff must take and successfully complete a 4-hour recertification training. This annual training is conducted by the district’s behavior specialist, Janice England. 

This annual report is inclusive of the isolation and restraint data from the behavior programs with which the district contracts: QUEST in Longview, Fir Grove in Vancouver, and Serendipity in Portland. As stated in policy 3246, district staff avoids the use of force, isolation, or restraint of students and, instead, takes a proactive approach in preventing student behavior escalations or intervening using de-escalation strategies taught and practiced in the Crisis Prevention training.