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WI: 7K instances of RESTRAINT in schools; 80% disabled students

July 10, 2023, Wis. Public Radio: Report: Nearly 7K instances of student physical restraint occurred in Wisconsin schools https://www.wpr.org/dpi-report-student-physical-restraint-wisconsin-schools
Wisconsin schools reported nearly 6,000 instances of seclusion and nearly 7,000 occurrences of physical restraint during the 2021-22 school year, according to the latest data available from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Among those instances, 1,920 students at 32 percent of Wisconsin's schools were secluded and 2,856 students at 44 percent of the state's schools were physically restrained, DPI data shows. The data does not indicate whether these incidents occurred simultaneously.

Students with individualized education programs, or IEPs, comprised 79 percent of all seclusion incidents and 76 percent of all physical restraint incidents reported for the 2021-22 school year, according to DPI. Students with IEPs only make up about 14 percent of Wisconsin's school-age children.

Mary Cerretti, an advocacy specialist on the Schools and Civil Rights team of Disability Rights Wisconsin, said throughout history students with disabilities have higher rates of discipline. Cerretti said more training is needed for educators and more mental health services are needed for students.

"That just opens a big can of worms because we're just not intervening early enough to meet their needs prior to them elevating to the higher-level behaviors," Cerretti said. "We absolutely can do it, we need to request special ed funding." …

The Republican-led state Legislature cut more than $276 million for mental health services in schools from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' proposed budget. Those services included money to create evidence-based mental health programs in schools.

Children in elementary schools were involved in a higher percentage of instances of seclusion and/or physical restraint than other levels of school, according to DPI data….

A year-long investigation by Hearst Newspapers, released October 2022, found these practices are used disproportionately on students with disabilities, Black students and boys, according to state and federal data.

Some younger students and students with intellectual and physical disabilities may be particularly vulnerable because they cannot communicate easily, or at all, what happens to them to their parents or other adults, according to the Hearst investigation.

There are no federal laws to determine how teachers or principals can use restraints or seclusion on children, despite federal law banning these practices in hospitals, psychiatric facilities and nursing homes. …

In Wisconsin, at least one staff member in each school where restraint might be used has to be trained on the practice….

Nearly half of Wisconsin schools reported at least one incident where either seclusion or physical restraint was used on a student during the 2019-20 school year, the first required reporting year. That year, students with disabilities comprised 82 percent of all seclusion incidents and 77 percent of physical restraint incidents, according to DPI. …


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