Here's what you need to know about contention and isolation in schools: NPR

When students pose a threat to themselves or others, educators sometimes have to control them or move them to a separate space. It's supposed to be a last resort, and it's a controversial practice. As noted recently, school districts do not always comply with state or federal reporting requirements.

Although there are guidelines on restraint and isolation in schools, there is no federal law governing their use. And they are most often used for students with disabilities or special needs, as well as for boys, according to the US Accountability Office of the United States.

Jennifer Tidd's son belongs to both categories. He has autism and behavioral problems and, over a period of three years – from 2013 to 2016, he was held or isolated more than 400 times by his school in Fairfax County, Virginia, according to a survey of the WAMU member station. Tidd says repeated reclusions have traumatized his son, causing him to hate school and make him more violent and suspicious of authority figures.

"He would poop and pee out of the isolation room – he was so desperate to go out," she recalls. "He is a child who has been completely cleansed since the age of 5. For me, for a non-verbal person, it's absolute despair.

These practices are covered by a patchwork of different policies, guidelines and regulations from one school district to another. This can make it difficult to understand when, why and how often students are isolated and restricted.

Educators often told WAMU that they did not want to isolate students, but when students become a danger to themselves, other students, or teachers, many feel they do not have other choices. Some educators have reported being seriously injured at work due to violent student behavior.

Here's what we know about how these methods are used and how they are regulated:

What does "isolation and restraint" mean?

Restraint means restricting the movements of a student by holding it, using a device to keep it motionless (straps, for example) or through medications. Physical restraint can mean anything: holding a child's arm or pulling one's entire body down.

Isolation means isolating a student in a room or space that he or she is physically unable to leave. Spaces and isolation rooms vary by school and district. Some schools have makeshift spaces that function as rest corners. Usually, the student is not completely locked in these spaces and people can easily see in and out.

Other schools have separate isolation rooms. Some isolation rooms in Fairfax County, for example, are built like Russian dolls – rooms in rooms. The most intimate room is reserved for students with more serious behavior problems. This room is concrete and the size of a closet. Inside, there are no chairs to sit on or windows on the walls. The doors have small windows and large magnetic locks.

How Is Isolation and Restraint Regulated?

The United States Department of Education's Civil Rights Bureau requires school districts to report each time the student is detained or isolated. And while tens of thousands of cases are reported, many suspect that these numbers are insufficient.

According to an analysis of the 2013-2014 Education Week data during Education Week, nearly 80% of districts reported that they had never isolated or restricted students in difficulty. This number includes the city of New York, the largest school district in the country.

For years, public schools in Fairfax County have also told the government that they are never isolated or restricted. The WAMU investigation, however, revealed hundreds of cases documented in internal documents and letters sent by schools to parents.

The Government Accountability Office, a federal oversight agency, is conducting a survey on the quality of data reported by school districts. Jackie Nowicki, Director of GAO, said media reports and legislators' testimonies raised "concerns about isolation and restraint [have] continued to be chronically underreported. "

At the state level, regulation varies considerably.

A Washington state law calls on schools to follow up with parents after a student is held or isolated, so "to attack the behavior that precipitated detention or detention." 39, isolation and [review] the incident with the staff member who administered the restraint or isolation. "

Colorado requires school districts to conduct an annual review of each incident from the previous year. And Michigan has banned the use of mechanical and chemical restraints in schools.

Other state laws are much less specific. In Virginia, a recently passed measure simply requires the state board of education to develop rules consistent with federal restraint and isolation guidelines. Some states only regulate the use of isolation and restraint of students with special needs, and many are not subject to any reporting requirements.

What are the alternatives to restraint and isolation?

Withholding and isolation can have a negative impact on students. Rob Manning, of Oregon Public Broadcasting, told the story of a student from Vancouver, Washington, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after repeated restrictions and isolation.

Students and educators may also be injured and in some tragic cases even students have died. That's what happened in a school run by the Grafton Integrated Health Network, a Virginia-based non-profit organization that runs private schools and adult group homes for individuals. disabled and with behavioral problems.

In December 2004, a 13-year-old autistic student died while being held at a Grafton facility. Today, the organization uses a trauma – based care approach that does not rely on isolation or restraint.

"The idea is that when someone is at worst, we have to be at our best," says Kim Sanders, who has been with Grafton for 30 years.

According to Sanders, in 2003, the year before the student's death, Grafton had served approximately 220 children and adults, but had more than 6,600 cases of restraint and approximately 1,500 isolations.

"Our toolbox was full of restraint and isolation – it was sort of the favored technique we used," says Sanders.

Now teachers are encouraged to empathize with students and think about what a person would need if they had a bad day.

"Most people would say [they need] Sanders says, "Nobody is going to tell me," In fact, I need someone to hold me against my will or to lock me in a room by myself. This is not what we would all like. "

Grafton's method also requires teachers to become familiar with students' patterns of behavior and learning styles in order to individualize their approaches to education.

According to Sanders, over the past five years, the organization has significantly reduced its use of isolation and restraint.

The Department of Education funds the development of a program called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS. This is a framework designed to help schools improve the academic performance of students with disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders. According to George Sugai, one of PBIS 'senior advisers, the program provides strategies designed to reduce the need for stress and isolation.

Sugai, who is also a professor of special education at the University of Connecticut, also said that it was important to note that isolation and restraint should not be used as the only intervention for students with difficult behavior. Instead, he encourages teachers to look for more therapeutic answers to students, for example by discussing why they behaved.

Sugai explains this by an example: "When I work with a school, they say:" Oh, my God [a student] has been in the office 17 times and we had to remember [the student] 14 times, "I say," Well, what interventions have you put in place "" to help them understand their anger?

Sugai says that many schools do not have alternatives in place to prevent behaviors that result in the use of isolation and restraint, and many lack alternative interventions. . It's something his organization hopes to change.