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Special‑education report: isolations and restraints rose after a dip; district cites new students, staffing and trust
Summary
Dave McKellar, director of special education, presented the district’s annual isolation and restraint report showing a large drop in one year followed by a partial rebound. The district said a small number of students account for many incidents and that limited local therapeutic resources and staffing contribute to challenges.
Dave McKellar, the Arlington School District director of special education, told the board that isolation and restraint incidents have fluctuated over the past three years and that most events involve a small number of students with intensive needs.
McKellar said the district recorded 461 combined isolation and restraint instances in the 2022–23 year, fell to 166 the following year, and has increased again this year though to levels still below 2022–23. He told the board that a small group of students accounts for a disproportional share of events and that 40 percent of this year’s incidents involved students who were new to the district.
Explaining terms, McKellar referenced state law and said an isolation occurs when “a student is put in an environment where they cannot leave by their own free will.” He said district staff use Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) training for de‑escalation and restraint response and emphasized that training focuses primarily on prevention and de‑escalation.
McKellar told the board the district is seeing more students whose needs require therapeutic environments and services that are scarce locally. “We are a therapeutic desert,” he said, noting that registered behavior technicians (RBTs), board‑certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) and non‑public therapeutic programs are difficult to find in North Snohomish County. He added that some specialty programs that previously reduced incidents had capacity changes, and that the district is working to develop programs and supports.
Board members asked for clarification about definitions and distribution of incidents across buildings and ages. McKellar said incidents are more frequent at the elementary level, particularly among younger students in intensive behavioral programs, and are rare at the high school level. He also said many incidents were concentrated early in the school year and tapered as trust and relationships built.
McKellar and board members discussed constraints including staff capacity, teacher experience in high‑behavior classrooms, the need for more BCBAs and RBTs, and families’ desire for local therapeutic programs. The presentation was delivered as the district’s annual informational report; no formal board action was recorded during the presentation.
Clarifying details from the presentation: 461 combined isolation/restraint instances reported in 2022–23; 166 in 2023–24 (a marked drop); this year’s incidents rose compared with last year (speaker gave an overall increase of about 40 percent compared with 2023–24 in the number of students affected), and roughly 40 percent of this year’s isolation/restraint incidents involved students new to the district.
