District reports progress under Department of Justice agreement; Van Buren school highlights reduced referrals

District executive director Ryals Parker told the board the district is in year three of a Department of Justice consent agreement and described data-driven changes districtwide intended to reduce suspensions, address disproportionality, and improve support for students with complex behavior needs.

Parker said the district has no seclusion as defined by the DOJ and that staff have revised restraint definitions, mandatory reporting and debrief practices. He said improved, consistent training for building safety teams and consolidated trainers have increased reporting accuracy; the result is that reported restraints rose earlier in the school year but have been declining month to month as teams implement recommended changes. "We reduced suspensions by half so far this year compared to the same time period last year," Parker said, adding that monthly recommendations for buildings now include both building-level and district-level actions so systemic issues are addressed.

Parker said the district now asks whether students involved in major incidents who are not already evaluated for special education should be offered an evaluation; the district partners with Grantwood AEA for evaluations. He described a process timeline: day-of-incident reporting and parent contact, counselor debrief within one school day, a building safety-team debrief within three school days, a district team incident review within five school days, and a monthly multi-department review within 30 days when restraints occur.

Parker and staff said the agreement has led to more timely supports for students and additional training for noninstructional staff (transportation and food-service teams) to reduce escalation in locations with less adult support.

Van Buren Elementary principal Amy Evans and her team presented an example of a schoolwide MTSS/PBIS continuum. Van Buren reported a decline in referrals from 1,300 at the same time last year to 846 this year, and the school described tiered interventions: universal tier-1 instruction and recognition; tier-2 small-group instruction and check-in/check-out systems; and tier-3 individualized intervention plans with one-to-one instruction and behavior intervention-plan fidelity checks. The Van Buren team credited smaller class sizes in a grade and added staffing for part of the improvement: the school increased sections in second grade, reducing class size from roughly 31 to about 20 students, and reported that the increased staffing helped reduce referrals in that grade from 510 to 189.

Van Buren also described restorative circles, a therapy dog program, on-site supports for basic needs and a special-education interventionist to ensure fidelity of behavior intervention plans. The school reported it had no restraints since early November after earlier incidents prompted intensive reviews and targeted interventions.

Why it matters: The DOJ consent agreement requires documented processes and measurable improvements. The district’s approach centers on earlier debriefing, evaluation offers and systematic monthly follow-up so localized incidents trigger district support. Van Buren’s reductions provide a local example of the model in practice.

What’s next: Parker said the DOJ compliance period continues through school year 2025–26; district staff plan expanded community outreach and are considering therapeutic classrooms and in-school suspension models at the secondary level.