Student injuries, deaths at hands of teachers

Congress is investigating the use of physical restraints and seclusion in U.S. schools, according to a report by ABC News on May 19, 2009. The Government Accountability Organization (GAO) released data indicating that abuse of restraining techniques have contributed to the injury and death of hundreds of students with special needs in the last two decades. One of the deaths described in the report was at the hands of a Texas teacher now teaching in Virginia.

Restraint and the law in Texas

Texas law   requires that any teacher who restrains a student be properly trained. The training must include prevention and de-escalation techniques. The Mandt System  is one source of training for schools that emphasizes relationship-building. With this emphasis, teachers learn how to emotionally connect with students, decreasing the likelihood of escalation that results in restraint.

Documentation by the school

Schools are required to fill out a report every time they use a restraint with a student. This documentation is submitted through the school district’s data system to the Texas Education Agency. Schools are required to attempt to verbally notify the parent and to follow up this notification with a written notification within one school day of a restraint. In addition, a copy of the documentation of the restraint must be placed in the student’s special education folder.

Positive Behavioral Supports

Texas established the Texas Behavior Support Initiative   in 2001 to provide behavioral support for all students. Designed as a three-tiered model, all students receive basic behavioral instruction. This is often seen in posted classroom rules and consequences and opportunities for cooperative learning. Those who may need more intensive supports, such as counseling or mentoring, move to the second tier. The third, and most intensive, tier of supports is often provided in the form of outside counseling and services.

Data-based prevention

Schools successfully implement positive behavioral supports by examining their data. Discipline and counselor referrals, police reports, and social worker contacts can contribute to this database. When schools know what the problems are, they can then provide targeted training and support to their teachers. Staying consistent, using research-based behavioral techniques, and providing a positive, caring atmosphere will go a long way to prevent the need for physical restraints.

Picture Credit

Ann Gaydos, her daughter Paige, and Toni Price, whose foster son, Cedric Napoleon, listen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 19, 2009, during the House Education and Labor Committee hearing examining the abusive and deadly use of seclusion and restraint in schools. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)