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Centennial School District reports restraint and seclusion data; board questions escalation and disproportionality
Summary
Student Services reported about 175 staff trained, roughly 40 physical restraints affecting 16 students last year (three students had five or more incidents), zero seclusions, and racial disproportionality in incidents; board members pressed on weapons escalation, metal detectors and staff supports.
The Centennial School District’s Director of Student Services delivered the annual behavior safety assessment and restraint/seclusion report, providing an overview of the three‑level assessment framework and statistics from the prior year.
Director Denise Wright said the district trained approximately 175 staff across buildings last year and recorded about 40 physical restraint events involving 16 students; nine students experienced more than one event and three students had five or more incidents. The district reported zero extended restraints (no events over 30 minutes) and zero seclusions last year.
Wright noted five physical restraints occurred at sites run by the Multnomah Education Service District and said overall incidents have generally declined at those partner sites after new strategies were implemented. She reported injuries in 15 incidents involving staff or students (mostly scratching and biting) and two emergency incidents where non‑trained staff intervened.
On disproportionality, Wright said roughly 19% of restraint events involved White students (three students), 25% involved Black students (four students) and about 31% involved multiracial students (five students). She contrasted that with district demographics, saying Black students comprise about 8% of district enrollment, a disparity she described as concerning and subject to further review.
In board questions, members asked whether the district has escalation criteria tied to firearms and whether law enforcement can be asked to forcibly remove weapons from homes. Wright said level‑1 processes can escalate to level‑2 and the district works with law enforcement on welfare checks and voluntary storage; she said district staff cannot unilaterally order law enforcement to seize weapons.
Wright described required incident reporting and a 24‑hour family debrief process; repeated incidents prompt targeted training and engagement with nonviolent crisis prevention trainers. She also said the district has expanded co‑regulation and trauma‑informed professional development for staff and offers restorative supports after incidents. Wright acknowledged gaps in measuring how much instructional time is lost during incidents and said that was an area for follow‑up.
Board members sought clarity on how restraint events are categorized, how trends are monitored across race and disability, and what supports are available for staff; Wright said reports and follow‑up debriefs are used to adjust plans and that teams build support plans when further incidents are predicted.
