MONROE - Seven years after the use of a time-out room at a Monroe school came under scrutiny, an administrator says the district is already in compliance with a proposed state law that would limit seclusion and restraint in public schools.
The law would have little effect on how the staff handles special needs students who act up or become self-injurious, says Joe Monroe, Director of Pupil Services for the Monroe School District.
The bipartisan bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday, Jan. 24, has broad support and is expected to pass the Assembly soon. It defines the circumstances under which a student can be secluded in a time-out room or physically restrained by staff - when a "pupil's behavior presents a clear, present and imminent risk" - and puts limits on the length and quality of the confinement. The legislation also demands that each incident be documented and reported to parents.
"We're doing all of these things already," Monroe said.
Two other administrators in the area had a similar reaction.
"Our district will be fine with the expectations of the bill," said Denise Wellnitz, administrator of the Darlington Community Schools.
The Brodhead School District doesn't have a time-out room, said Director of Pupil Services Gail Anderson. "The main focus in any crisis intervention is always on de-escalation," she added. "We work really hard to be proactive so restraint isn't needed."
Monroe and Wellnitz echoed this sentiment. Restraint and seclusion are last-resort tactics to address extreme behavior and are used, they said, only when approved in the student's personal plan, called an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
For a third-grade cognitively disabled student who is getting unruly, for example, Monroe said his staff tries to redirect as much of the child's anger by counting to 10, story-telling, yoga, deep pressure or rolling a ball on his or her back. "The main idea is that we want to use seclusion or restraint as a last option," he said.
Only a small number of children have the OK for restraint or seclusion in their IEPs. In an enrollment of 2,655 at the Monroe School District, three students fall into this category, said Monroe.
"It's not as if this is a regular process," he added.
Wellnitz wouldn't release the number of Darlington students who can be restrained or secluded, but said it's "six-tenths of a percent" of the overall enrollment.
"It's a handful," she said.
The time-out room for her district is in Darlington's elementary/middle school. It used to be an office, Wellnitz said, and is "just a regular room" with no padding on the walls. The door has a window to allow the child to be alone but observed at all times.
Secluding a child in the room allows the child to relax and "gets them out of the stimulus" that's upsetting them, she said.
The Monroe district's only time-out room, located at Parkside, is about 24 to 30 square feet and has a window on the door that allows supervision "so you can see the child at any point in the room," he said.
There is one more option when dealing with an out-of-control student: calling police. Monroe said this happens only when a student is breaking the law or threatening staff. The Monroe Police Department has responded several times in recent months to Parkside to take a special-needs child into custody, according to Police Chief Fred Kelley. Each time the child was later released to a guardian.
In 2005, a parent asked the Department of Public Instruction to investigate the time-out room used by the Monroe School District. The state's inspection found the district to be in compliance with safety guidelines, although the inspection came after the district made changes to the room's lighting and removed a lock on the door.
Monroe calls the complaint a misunderstanding that resulted from a one-time incident when a student was confined by a substitute teacher who didn't know where the light switch was.
The district "cooperated fully" with the state and conducted its own internal investigation, resulting in an improved documentation process, according to reports at the time.
Serving special needs students is challenging, Monroe said, but it's a challenge public schools must by law take on.
"It's our job to serve these kids," he said.
The law would have little effect on how the staff handles special needs students who act up or become self-injurious, says Joe Monroe, Director of Pupil Services for the Monroe School District.
The bipartisan bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday, Jan. 24, has broad support and is expected to pass the Assembly soon. It defines the circumstances under which a student can be secluded in a time-out room or physically restrained by staff - when a "pupil's behavior presents a clear, present and imminent risk" - and puts limits on the length and quality of the confinement. The legislation also demands that each incident be documented and reported to parents.
"We're doing all of these things already," Monroe said.
Two other administrators in the area had a similar reaction.
"Our district will be fine with the expectations of the bill," said Denise Wellnitz, administrator of the Darlington Community Schools.
The Brodhead School District doesn't have a time-out room, said Director of Pupil Services Gail Anderson. "The main focus in any crisis intervention is always on de-escalation," she added. "We work really hard to be proactive so restraint isn't needed."
Monroe and Wellnitz echoed this sentiment. Restraint and seclusion are last-resort tactics to address extreme behavior and are used, they said, only when approved in the student's personal plan, called an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
For a third-grade cognitively disabled student who is getting unruly, for example, Monroe said his staff tries to redirect as much of the child's anger by counting to 10, story-telling, yoga, deep pressure or rolling a ball on his or her back. "The main idea is that we want to use seclusion or restraint as a last option," he said.
Only a small number of children have the OK for restraint or seclusion in their IEPs. In an enrollment of 2,655 at the Monroe School District, three students fall into this category, said Monroe.
"It's not as if this is a regular process," he added.
Wellnitz wouldn't release the number of Darlington students who can be restrained or secluded, but said it's "six-tenths of a percent" of the overall enrollment.
"It's a handful," she said.
The time-out room for her district is in Darlington's elementary/middle school. It used to be an office, Wellnitz said, and is "just a regular room" with no padding on the walls. The door has a window to allow the child to be alone but observed at all times.
Secluding a child in the room allows the child to relax and "gets them out of the stimulus" that's upsetting them, she said.
The Monroe district's only time-out room, located at Parkside, is about 24 to 30 square feet and has a window on the door that allows supervision "so you can see the child at any point in the room," he said.
There is one more option when dealing with an out-of-control student: calling police. Monroe said this happens only when a student is breaking the law or threatening staff. The Monroe Police Department has responded several times in recent months to Parkside to take a special-needs child into custody, according to Police Chief Fred Kelley. Each time the child was later released to a guardian.
In 2005, a parent asked the Department of Public Instruction to investigate the time-out room used by the Monroe School District. The state's inspection found the district to be in compliance with safety guidelines, although the inspection came after the district made changes to the room's lighting and removed a lock on the door.
Monroe calls the complaint a misunderstanding that resulted from a one-time incident when a student was confined by a substitute teacher who didn't know where the light switch was.
The district "cooperated fully" with the state and conducted its own internal investigation, resulting in an improved documentation process, according to reports at the time.
Serving special needs students is challenging, Monroe said, but it's a challenge public schools must by law take on.
"It's our job to serve these kids," he said.