Action | Promulgating new regulation governing seclusion & restraint in public elementary & secondary schools |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 4/19/2019 |
History
The rationale for restraints and seclusion is safety of the child him/herself, other children and the adults.There is a great deal of fear surrounding the idea of limiting, let alone banning the use of restraints.
However, there are areas in Virginia where restraints are not needed. If it is possible some places, why not everywhere? Of course it is possible everywhere. It first requires the belief that it is possible and the will to see that it occurs. A trauma sensitive school culture of safety and nurturing relationships along with trauma informed staff who understand behavior beyond behaviorism is key. Mona Delahooke’s book Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges (available through Amazon or PESI) should be required reading for every principle, counselor, teacher and parent!
During the past month, quite a bit of evidence of the immediate and long-lasting harm caused to children and their families has become available through the public comments, newspaper and TV accounts, Facebook posts and documentaries.It is also clear that the extent of use of these harmful procedures has not been public knowledge nor perhaps even known by administrators due to lack of reporting.
In reading the public comments, I see a lot of concerns from school personnel/administrators about the time and cost of training if restraints and seclusion rules are changed or alternatives are implemented. I urge you to balance the cost of training school personnel against the cost to the children who are restrained and/or secluded and to their families – as well as the cost to the teachers who have not had training in understanding trauma, neurotypical behaviors, stress responses (including how to recognize and de-escalate before they build into explosions). Please put yourselves in the shoes of these children and families. THIS IS A CRISIS! How can we in good conscious allow restraints and seclusion to continue knowing the great harm that is occurring by using these procedures, knowing they are unnecessary and harmful and ineffective and knowing there are alternatives?
Can we allow this to continue because it is difficult to fund or find time for training? It is impossible to put a dollar amount on the cost of the human suffering that occurs to the child during restraints or seclusion, or the cost that is associated with the long-term impact of that trauma, though we do have well researched data documenting the impact of trauma on the brain, the cardiovascular system, the endocrine system and the immune system. (https://centerforyouthwellness.org/the-science/). We do, however, have data on the cost savings of eliminating these harmful procedures. Please see Kim Sander’s comment regarding savings when seclusion was eliminated, and restraints were drastically reduced.
Please take the time to view the following two documentaries. The Human costs can be seen through these videos.
If you have not had a chance to view some of the reports, here is a sampling:
Without the option of restraints and seclusion, is it possible to keep students and the adults working with them safe? YES! YES! YES!
How and Why is this Possible?
There is evidence that not only are restraints and seclusion unnecessary, there are additional benefits from eliminating the use of these harsh, traumatic procedures: