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District reports drop in restraints after Safety Care training; plans to expand trainer network
Summary
Student services staff presented multi‑year data on use of restraint and isolation, reported reductions after adopting Safety Care and conscious discipline, and said the district will train building-level Safety Care trainers and work with private partner schools.
Ryan (Director of Behavioral Health) and other student services staff told the board the district has tracked restraint and isolation usage and made program changes that have reduced physical interventions.
Ryan said the district recorded about 67 instances of restraint under an earlier program (Right Response) in 2021–22, then tried a different approach (Oochero) that initially reduced restraints but later produced concerning increases. "Right Response trains staff to intervene... with Oocaro it was more about the theory... and there wasn't any training on how to properly and safely intervene," he said.
The district adopted Safety Care this year and provided broad conscious-discipline training. Jessica Ackley, a district expert on Safety Care and Conscious Discipline, described Safety Care as “our crisis prevention program” that offers both prevention and practical verbal and physical de-escalation techniques. Staff members from multiple schools told the board they have found the combination useful.
Several classroom and paraeducator staff described changes in practice. Preschool teacher Erin Siebert said Safety Care paired with conscious discipline gives preschool teachers “those tools that we need, for how to respond.” Resource teacher Makayla Kang said Safety Care provides more explicit physical and verbal de‑escalation strategies than the previous curriculum and that conscious discipline focuses on the dignity of the child. Casey Hamilton, a literacy specialist, said conscious discipline “has allowed me to move from simply managing behavior to truly guiding and nurturing the whole child.” Paraeducator Vidya Shikara described conscious discipline as a kinder, relationship‑based approach.
Ryan and student services staff emphasized that most isolation instances reported in the district are programmatic and that out‑of‑district placements (nonpublic agencies) sometimes use isolation as a planned option; the district includes those instances in its reporting. Ryan said the team reviews such cases through the IEP process. He noted that when emergency response protocols are included in an IEP the family must provide consent. "Parents have to provide consent for us to implement that," he said.
Staff highlighted a recent spike in restraints in January that stemmed from a small number of students at one school; weekly problem‑solving with that team and more Safety Care practice led to immediate reductions. Ryan said that since the March data cut there have been no reported instances of restraint or isolation.
The district said grant funding that supported training may be available next year; plans include training one Safety Care trainer from each elementary building and providing Conscious Discipline 101 opportunities. Student services staff said they will also strengthen outreach and professional development with nonpublic/private partner schools that serve district students.
Ending: Student services staff asked the board to note the district’s emphasis on prevention, debriefing after incidents, and parent engagement when emergency protocols are discussed during IEP planning. The board thanked teachers and paraeducators for participating in trainings and for sharing classroom perspectives.
