REPORTS TO THE BOARD

Use of Reasonable Force Annual Report

Use of Reasonable Force Annual Report
Woodland School District
July 22, 2022

Prepared by Jake Hall, Executive Director of Learning Supports and Alternatives

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 force on rare occasions to keep students and staff safe, the district takes precautions, utilizes Crisis Prevention Intervention training, and always submits an incident-review report to the superintendent (3246F). Each incident is reviewed by the Executive Director of Learning Supports and Alternatives, input into our computer database system (Skyward), and reported to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Here is the data on Isolation and Restraint from the 2020-21 school year:

The number of individual incidents of restraint and isolation: 202 
The number of students involved in the incidents: 12
The number of injuries to students: 6
The number of injuries to staff: 4
The types of restraint or isolation used:
1 person restraint
2 person standing restraint
2 person seated restraint
Walking restraint/escort/transport
Other restraint: TEAM control
Designated Isolation Room
Classroom Isolation
Other Isolation: Breezeway/Hallway

This annual report is inclusive of the Isolation and Restraint data from the behavior programs the district contracts with QUEST in Longview, Fir Grove in Vancouver, and Serendipity and Multnomah Educational Service District in Portland. The majority of the Isolation and Restraints during the 2021-22 school year involved three students in outside placement.

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 Intervention training.