CPI Presents to Missouri Department of Education

November, 2009

CPI Presents to Missouri Department of Education
On November 19, 2009, CPI’s Executive Director of Research and Development, Dr. Randy Boardman made a presentation to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Model Policy Committee on Restraint and Seclusion, Senate Bill 291, Section 160.263 – Restrictive Behavioral Intervention. The law requires that the Department “…work with appropriate associations, organizations, agencies and individuals with expertise in behavior management.”

Dr. Boardman’s presentation provided the Committee with CPI resources – Terms Commonly Defined with Policy and Regulatory Guidance, Outline of Common Policy and Guidance Topics, and a listing of Additional Considerations. These considerations included:

When faced with a crisis situation, absent of proper training, staff will often react based on the emotions of the moment. Students and staff are safer when staff response is based on training.

Training staff to respond to and safely intervene in such moments of crisis cannot be a one-time event. Training must be a continual, ongoing process to become a matter of daily practice.

When a restraint technique involves the floor, the dangers of injury to staff and students increase. Also, the use of floor restraints significantly increases the risks for restraint-related positional asphyxia.

Restraints should be used as a last resort, only when the person’s behavior is more dangerous than the danger of using restraints.

The only safe physical restraint is the one staff did not have to use because they were able to de-escalate the situation in a less restrictive manner without a restraint.

While the Department of Education is not prepared to endorse a single training provider for state-wide use, they were appreciative of CPI’s willingness to provide our experience and expertise, and meet with them about our programs and supporting services. The Department of Education hopes to create a model policy on restraint and seclusion for local school districts across Missouri within the year. Dr. Boardman will continue to work with the Committee as they continue their work.

Originally posted here.

Seclusion Rooms Restricted in Missouri Bill Signed into Law this Week

Missouri, July 14, 2009

School boards in Missouri are now required to define in a written policy its district’s use of seclusion rooms and restraint methods for students with behavioral problems.

The requirement is one part of an education bill Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law on Monday. School districts must complete policies within two years. The law also says the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must develop within one year a model policy that draws on advice from organizations for students with disabilities and experts in behavior management.

Read more here.

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Districts Must Set Policies on Seclusion Rooms

Missouri, June 13, 2009

Missouri school districts have two years to adopt written policies governing the use of seclusion rooms.

The Legislature last month approved a law prohibiting schools from confining students in locked, unattended rooms, except in emergencies while awaiting police.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Seclusion Rooms In Schools, Even In Missouri, Get National Attention

Missouri, May 21, 2009

Testimony is taking place this week in Washington, D.C., regarding the use of seclusion rooms for students with disabilities - not only in Missouri, but across the country. Ange Hemmer has been vocal about the issue ever since her son was sent to a seclusion room numerous times in kindergarten in the Francis Howell School District.

From the passage of legislation in Missouri this year to the Congressional hearings, Hemmer says she's pleased the debate is creating awareness, but more needs to be done. For example, she urges teachers to get the training and support they need to help students with disabilities before they fail.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Parents of Disabled Students Say Metro District is Mistreating Their Kids

Raytown, MO, May 19,2009

A new Congressional investigation has uncovered alleged widespread abuse of special-needs children in schools, and parents in the Raytown School District says it's happening to their kids.

The report expresses serious concerns about how public schools are disciplining children with disabilities across the country. According to the report, there are alleged incidents of children being violently restrained and closed off in seclusion rooms for hours, in some cases leading to serious injury or death.

The "Booth" at Westridge Elementary School in the Raytown School District is where kids go when they act out. Carrack Norton says his son, who has Aspergers, a form of autism, is all too familiar with it.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Senate to Consider Bill on Use of Schools’ ‘Seclusion Rooms’

Missouri, March 12, 2009

Following complaints last month by two parents who said their children were harmed after repeatedly being placed in “seclusion rooms” while attending school in the Francis Howell School District State Sen. Scott Rupp has introduced a state bill that would regulate use of seclusion rooms for children with disabilities in area schools.


Rupp had first proposed banning seclusion rooms, but after Superintendent Renee Schuster and other district officials showed him a 27-square-foot seclusion room in Francis Howell North High School and a 45-square-foot room in Henderson Elementary School, he lightened the bill.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Senator Tours Seclusion Rooms

Missouri, March 3, 2009

Instead of banning seclusion rooms, proposed state legislation will probably try to regulate their use.

State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-2nd District, who proposed a ban two weeks ago, on Monday said he would write a substitute bill geared toward establishing guidelines for when and how schools can use the rooms.

Read the rest of the story here.

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One Mother's Story About Her Special Needs Son Sheds Light on Seclusion Rooms

Missouri, March 1, 2009

Carla Clapp's 9-year-old son is a special education student in the Francis Howell School District, and she's worried about a proposal to ban timeout rooms in Missouri.

Her son suffers from severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and has speech and developmental delays. When he gets upset, the room allows him a quiet space to work through it, she said.

Read the rest of the story here.

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FHSD Superintendent Responds to Reports of ‘Time-Out’ Rooms

Missouri, February 26, 2009

Francis Howell School District Superintendent Renee Schuster says the allegations by two parents and members of the Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services agency are unfounded in their complaints, and she welcomes an investigation by the state Children’s Division.

Schuster said the district has requested an independent study of the 17 seclusion rooms in the city, and the state Children’s Division has agreed.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Advocacy Group Fights Use of ‘Seclusion Rooms’ in Schools

Missouri, February 26, 2009

As reports hit the airwaves, parents in the Francis Howell School District grimaced. A federally funded Missouri advocacy service said it was investigating reports by two mothers that their disabled children were repeatedly placed in padded “seclusion” rooms in the Francis Howell School District.

Through the investigation, the group hopes to put pressure on Francis Howell and other districts to learn appropriate ways of restraint of children with disabilities.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Bill Filed to Ban Seclusion Rooms

Missouri, February 26, 2009

The Missouri Senate is considering a bill to ban seclusion rooms in schools.

State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-2nd District, on Tuesday introduced a bill that would prohibit schools from confining students in a locked box, closet or specially designed room.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Cut and paste URL: http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/02/26/stcharles/special_feature/0227stc-rupp0.txt

Lawmaker Wants Ban on Seclusion Rooms for Children with Disabilities

Missouri, February 25, 2009

School seclusion rooms for children with disabilities would be banned under a bill introduced Tuesday by state Sen. Scott Rupp.

He said he wanted to eliminate the rooms "until the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education can prove they serve a worthwhile purpose."

"If they serve a purpose, then we need to have some type of rules governing their use," said Rupp, R-Wentzville.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Francis Howell Board Opinions Vary on Seclusion Rooms

Missouri, February 24, 2009

The Francis Howell Board of Education has not officially weighed in on the district's use of seclusion rooms, but individual members have different opinions.

Some said they were unaware of the rooms until last week, when a media blitz erupted after three parents accused the district of mistreating their children by confining them inside the small, padded rooms.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Cut and paste URL: http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/02/24/stcharles/special_feature/0225stc-board0.txt

Mapaville Parents to File Complaint Against School Nurse

Missouri, February 24, 2009

A group of parents involved in a federal lawsuit alleging abuse of special needs students at Mapaville State School plan to file an additional complaint against a school nurse.

Craig Henning, an advocate for the disabled with the Crystal City-based Disability Resource Association (DRA), said multiple parents will file complaints with the Missouri State Nursing Board against Sally Forshee, a school nurse employed by the Mapaville State School.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Rupp Will Try to Ban 'Timeout Rooms'

Missouri, February 21, 2009

The story of two children in the Francis Howell School District has erupted into a regional debate on whether schools should use "timeout rooms" to quell student tantrums.

State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-2nd District, on Friday said he would file a bill to ban the rooms.

"I feel that if they serve a needed purpose, that it is the job of the (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) to convince the legislators why they should (be) kept," Rupp, of Wentzville, said in a written comment.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Parents: Padded Rooms Abusive

Missouri, February 21, 2009

Nick Von Harz does not look very threatening at home, curled up on a sofa and clutching his stuffed bear.

But suddenly, his shy demeanor can erupt into explosive tantrums. Nick has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. Teachers at Hollenbeck Middle School have responded by repeatedly putting the sixth-grader in a small, padded room.

Read the rest of the story here.

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I-Team Given Access to Controversial Seclusion Room

Missouri, February 19, 2009

Legal advocates for children with disabilities are trying to shut down so called seclusion rooms used to calm out of control students with special needs.

NewsChannel 5 first broke this story Tuesday night and by Wednesday, the I-Team's Leisa Zigman was granted access to one of the rooms in question.

Sharon VonHarz said her 11-year-old autistic son was placed in a seclusion room at Hollenbeck Middle School in the Francis Howell School District. She claims he was sent into the room multiple times each week as punishment.

See the rest of the story here.

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Local School Defends Use of Small, Padded 'Time Out' Rooms

Missouri, February 19, 2009

The Francis Howell School District is defending its use of padded rooms it calls "time out rooms."

A child advocacy group claims teachers have used those rooms to abuse and neglect students.

The rooms are about the size of closet and have padded walls.

Some parents told News 4 that several special needs students have been injured while being forced into the rooms.

See the rest of the story here.

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Copy and paste URL: http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/kmov-st-louis-news-090219-time-out-rooms.2f444c9f.html

Francis Howell Parents Want Padded Seclusion Rooms Banned

Missouri, 02/19/2009

Two families spoke out Wednesday against the use of padded seclusion rooms for children with disabilities after filing complaints against the Francis Howell School District.

Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services, a federally funded law firm, is investigating the parents' allegations of abuse and neglect against Francis Howell. The district says that parents knew about the use of the rooms and that nothing improper was done.

Byron Koster, a disability advocate with the firm, said other methods could be used to control behavior.

Read the rest of the story here.

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Charlie Brennan Seclusion Rooms in Francis Howell School District

Missouri, February 19, 2009

Charlie talks with Susan Bartlett, staff attorney, and Byron Koster, legal advocate, from Mo. Protection and Advocacy Services, about allegations that children are being forced into seclusion rooms in the Francis Howell School District in the St. Louis area.

Listen to the show here.

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