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Parent urges Fayetteville board to restore protections in restraint and behavior policy, cites recent incident and state law confusion
Summary
A parent told the Fayetteville Board of Education she opposes proposed deletions to the district’s behavioral intervention and restraint policy and said recent state law language does not require removing protections; she called for a parent-inclusive task force.
A Fayetteville parent told the Board of Education on Aug. 28 that proposed changes to the district’s student behavioral intervention and restraint policy could remove critical protections for students with disabilities.
Jennifer Worth, speaking during audience participation, said her 7-year-old daughter — a second grader with Level 2 autism — was restrained on the second day of school and that the family is reviewing recordings of the incident. Worth urged the board to retain protective language in Policy 5.6 and to treat new state laws as permission to add evidence-based, neuro-affirming models rather than as grounds to remove safeguards.
“It’s our youngest learners with disabilities,” Worth said, describing who she believes will be most affected by the changes. “If we don’t codify protections here in these policies in this handbook, how can we ensure the district is doing more than paying lip service to the preventive interventions, proper treatment, and dignity when restraint is employed?”
Worth referenced recent state laws by the numbers as presented during legislative debates and said the district should implement proven, preventive models including collaborative proactive solutions, relational behavior interventions, and modern applied behavioral approaches. She also urged the board to form a task force that includes parents of students with individualized education programs (IEPs) and behavior intervention plans (BIPs).
Superintendent Damian Mulford and district staff discussed multiple policy revisions during the meeting and noted the board’s prior review; the board later voted to approve a slate of revised and new policies, including the student-behavior policy, by a 6-0 vote. The board’s action adopted the proposed language as presented at the meeting; Worth and other parents said they want the district to augment policy with specific, parent-included implementation steps.
The board’s policy vote was procedural and final wording is now on the district website; parents who want clarifications should consult the adopted Policy 5.6 and the district’s handbook, both cited by the speaker as the authoritative documents. The parent recommended that the district ensure training on preventive and post-restraint recovery services and explicitly include parents of children with disabilities in policy implementation reviews.
