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Hazel Park presents seclusion and restraint reduction plan; district reports steep declines
Summary
District student‑services staff outlined a multi‑pronged plan to reduce seclusion and physical restraint; the district reported a 93% drop in seclusions and an 85% drop in restraints in the most recent comparative period.
Student services staff presented the district’s seclusion and restraint reduction plan and described operational changes the team said led to sharp declines in reported incidents.
The presentation traced a year‑long, multi‑stakeholder effort that included professional learning, creation of key‑identified personnel (KIPP) teams in each school, revised documentation and debriefing processes, and expanded training for school social workers and behavior specialists. Staff said the work was framed around Michigan’s Public Act 394 (2016) and MDE guidance restricting seclusion and restraint to emergency circumstances of imminent danger.
Presenters said implementation steps included training all staff in the district’s chosen crisis prevention model, monthly refresher sessions for new hires, creation of calm‑down rooms and repurposing seclusion spaces at Edison for non‑seclusion regulation, and a formal auditing process for each form. Staff also said they revised forms to collect more detailed antecedent‑behavior‑consequence information and now debrief with teams and families after each incident.
Using September–December comparisons, staff reported seclusions fell from 283 to 19 (a 93 percent reduction) and restraints decreased by 85 percent over the same period. The Michigan Department of Education had received the district’s submissions and staff said state officials responded positively to the results and requested information about the district model.
Staff said the district will bring updated, more detailed seclusion‑and‑restraint policy language to the board for approval. The presenters invited continued staff and family engagement and said they will resurvey school climate later in the year to measure staff perceptions of safety and implementation fidelity.
