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McFarland board hears annual seclusion and restraint report; district totals steady near 60 incidents
Summary
District staff presented the annual seclusion and restraint report showing 60 total incidents in 2024–25 (12 seclusions, 48 restraints), stable compared with the prior two years and sharply lower than mid‑2010s levels. Staff described notification practices, training shifts and use of the SRO in rare cases.
Lauren Arango, a district staff member, presented the McFarland School District’s annual seclusion and restraint report at the board meeting, saying the district recorded 60 incidents in the 2024–25 school year — 12 seclusions and 48 physical restraints. "They really would like us to move away from ever having to seclude or restrain a student," Arango told the board, describing state expectations and the district’s training efforts.
The report, which the district files with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), breaks incidents down by building. McFarland Primary School logged 26 total incidents (6 seclusion, 20 restraint); WAVESO recorded 23 (5 seclusion, 18 restraint); the middle school had seven incidents (1 seclusion, 6 restraint); the high school had one incident (a physical restraint); and three restraints occurred at the Richardson School, an off‑district private alternative for students with disabilities. Districtwide, the 12 seclusions involved nine students and the 48 restraints involved 16 students.
Arango said staff now call parents the same day an incident occurs even though the written report is legally allowed up to three days. She described a shift in staff training toward techniques that “look at blocking a student as opposed to physically secluding or restraining them.” Board members asked whether the same students were involved across multiple incidents; Arango said some events include both seclusion and restraint and that multiple incidences can involve the same student.
Arango also said school resource officer Joel Zietzma was frequently the responding officer when law enforcement was involved, but that calling outside police was rare. "It is a pretty rare event that we are calling 911 and having an officer," she said, and noted the district reports law enforcement presence on incidents for transparency.
The board saw trend data showing the district’s incidents have been relatively flat the past three years — 57 in 2022–23, 61 in 2023–24 and 60 in 2024–25 — and far below a peak near 300 incidents in the 2014–15 school year. Arango and board members discussed that reductions over time reflected procedural changes, staff transitions and targeted training.
The presentation was informational; Arango noted the district must submit the numbers to DPI, which reviews districts with any seclusion or restraint incidents to examine root causes. No formal board action was taken.
Implications and next steps mentioned in the meeting included continued staff training on non‑physical strategies, reiterating parent notification practices, and monitoring DPI reviews that may follow districts’ reported incidents.
