A way to safely restrain students?

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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/grmetro_article.aspx?storyid=66535

A way to safely restrain students? Bereaved mom at odds with state.

By Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press Education Writer

Created: 12/8/2006 11:18:19 AM

Updated: 12/8/2006 11:47:48 AM

Renner- III entered Parchment High School on Aug. 25,

2003, full of excitement about the beginning of a new school year.

But hours after the first day of classes began, he was dead.

, who was autistic, had what appeared to be a seizure, and

then became combative, prompting staff members to physically

restrain him while he lay facedown. He stopped breathing while

restrained.

His death - and the death of another child in 2003 in which

restraint was involved - prompted the Michigan Department of

Education to draft tighter restrictions on the use of restraints and

seclusion in state schools and document just how often the practices

occur.

On Tuesday, the state Board of Education will consider its fourth

version of the policy this year.

The emotional debate pits special-education advocates against state

associations that represent school workers. As advocates seek a ban

on what they say are inhumane practices, educators fight for what

they say is an unfortunate, but necessary, way to address children

with challenging behaviors.

It also pits parents like 's mother, , who

want a ban on seclusion and restraints, against those who say school

staff should be allowed to use them with children who otherwise may

not be able to remain in a public school setting.

" When you have an issue of this magnitude, the emotion that flows is

unbelievable. Nobody wants to be in this position to begin with, "

said Mark Moody, director of special education for the Midland

County Educational Service Agency and president-elect of the

Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education.

Certainly not , who lives in Kalamazoo. Three years later,

she is still fighting to make sure educators learn a lesson from her

15-year-old son's death. His death was ruled an accident, but an

autopsy report said the cause was a combination of prolonged

restraint and cardiac arrest.

" I'm still outraged. It cannot happen to another person's child, "

said this week.

A revised policy would guide districts on how to address the issue,

but schools wouldn't be mandated to adopt it, said Ackley,

spokesman for the education department.

" But if there are cases where a student or a teacher were harmed,

and there were legal actions, the court would look at whether a

school district had implemented the policy, " Ackley said.

Michigan has not kept records on how often restraints and seclusion

are used.

Existing policies allow physically restricting movement and

confining a student to a room or an area of a room. But advocates

say the policy is vague and applies only to special-education

students. The policy the board will consider Tuesday restricts the

use of seclusion and restraint to emergencies and applies to all

children in public schools.

" Seclusion and restraint are cruel, inhumane and degrading

practices. I don't think they belong in educational settings, " said

Bauer of Birmingham, a member of the state Board of

Education. Bauer is a longtime advocate for people with disabilities.

Only one state, Massachusetts, bans seclusion and restraint in

schools. Several others, including Texas and California, restrict

their use.

" These practices are inherently dangerous, " said Mark Mc,

director of education advocacy for the Michigan Protection and

Advocacy Service, a nonprofit organization that looks out for the

rights of people with disabilities.

His group investigated the 2003 death of a child in the Saginaw

Intermediate School District after the child was restrained. The

cause of death was acute congestive heart failure.

But people like Blu Hintz of Midland, who is raising her 13-year-old

grandson, , worry that if educators don't have the ability to

seclude or restrain students, there would be no room in public

schools for children like .

has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and spina bifida.

His behavior has improved, but at times he still loses control -

kicking, biting, hitting, throwing chairs.

" If children like aren't restrained, they have no other place

to go, " Hintz said. " They would end up in an institution. "

Educators fear the state board will approve a policy that will place

too many restrictions on school staff.

" We're concerned that classroom teachers and administrators ...

would not have the tools they need in potentially explosive

situations, " said Tony Derezinski, director of government relations

for the Michigan Association of School Boards.

But advocates say that instead of secluding and restricting

children, schools must get to the root cause of behaviors that may

prompt such action.

" That student is communicating something. What they're

communicating, we don't always know. It's our responsibility as

adults, the people in power, to figure out what it is and intervene

in constructive kinds of ways, not dragging the child off to a broom

closet, " said state board member Bauer.

Bauer and others point to programs like Positive Behavior Support,

which the state board in September urged all districts to adopt, as

crucial in helping schools address all students' behavior. The

program gives schools tools they can use to emphasize good behavior.

Since October, educators and parents who want schools to have the

option to seclude and restrain have peppered the state board with

letters, e-mails and calls, many of them saying they are concerned

about how schools would address the needs of children who have

challenging behavior problems.

The policy the board will consider completely bans restraining

someone facedown or in a way that would affect breathing. It also

requires that schools document each time seclusion or restraint is

used, something parent Sandee Koski likes.

Her son has a developmental disability and attends Pinckney

Community Schools.

" It takes it out of the shadows, which is where it's at right now, "

Koski said.

Kathleen Straus, president of the state board, said that although

she has some questions about wording in the policy, she believes it

represents what the board asked staff to come up with and is a

compromise. Straus said she hopes a time comes when the state can

ban seclusion and restraint completely, but that time is not now.

" We have to do a lot of training of school staff, " Straus said.

Staffers need effective alternatives when confronted with serious

behavior problems, she said.

said the debate has given her mixed emotions.

" If it's going in the right direction, it makes me feel better, " she

said. " But every time it doesn't, I feel people don't see 's

death as a lesson to be learned. This cannot happen again. "

What the proposal says

The state Board of Education, at its meeting Tuesday in Lansing,

will consider a policy on the use of seclusion and restraints in

Michigan schools. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the board room

of the A. Hannah Building, 608 W. Allegan, Lansing. The policy:

• Restricts the use of seclusion and restraints to emergency

situations.

• Says seclusion and restraints cannot be used for the convenience

of staff as a substitute for an educational program, as a form of

discipline or punishment, as a substitute for adequate staffing or

as a substitute for staff training.

• Bans the use of mechanical restraint (a device or material

attached to a student's body), chemical restraint (such as

medication) and any restraint, including prone restraint, that

affects breathing.

• Sets limits on how long children can be secluded: 5 minutes for

preschool children, 15 minutes for elementary students and 20

minutes for middle and high school students.

• Says students should not be restrained for more than 10 minutes;

any longer use would require additional support and documentation to

explain the extension of the time limit.

• Requires that schools document each time seclusion or restraint is

used. Also requires parents or guardians to be notified. Districts

must report the data to the Michigan Department of Education.

• Requires schools to create an emergency intervention plan for

students who have patterns of behavior that require the use of

emergency seclusion or restraints.

• Requires training for school personnel who may have to seclude or

restrain children.

Lawsuit pending

A decision in one lawsuit is still pending in the death of

Renner- III, 15, who died in 2003 after being physically

restrained by staff members at Parchment High.

The lawsuit seeks to force the Parchment School District to

implement a policy on the use of restraints and to train staff for

such emergencies. It was filed by the Autism Society of Michigan and

the Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service against the district.

's mother, , settled her $25-million suit

against the Parchment district, the Kalamazoo Regional Educational

Service Agency, which operated the program attended, and the

employees involved.

said the terms of the settlement prevent her from disclosing

the details.

In the lawsuit, she alleged four school officials restrained

for up to 45 minutes and held him to the floor with their hands,

arms, legs and feet, " " ignoring his medical condition and placing

weight on his body which hindered and/or prevented him from

breathing. " "

Parchment school officials referred questions to their attorney,

Bartosiewicz. Because of the pending lawsuit, Bartosiewicz

would not address questions about 's death. He said the

district has always maintained it did not break any state rules.

" " Parchment is positive it's in compliance with the state rules. And

it is concerned for the safety of all of its students, " "

Bartosiewicz said.

Lori Higgins