LPRO analysis: restraint and seclusion incidents in Oregon public schools have trended down since 2019–20

The Legislative Policy and Research Office presented an analysis of Oregon Department of Education and Department of Human Services data on restraint and seclusion in public schools covering 2019–20 through 2023–24.

LPRO reported an overall downward trend from pandemic‑era highs. Because ODE suppresses district counts between 1 and 5 for confidentiality, LPRO estimated a range for unsuppressed incidents and reported an estimated 4,439–4,995 total incidents in the 2023–24 window, with restraints accounting for the majority. The analyst said about 90% of incidents in the most recent year involved only trained staff and roughly 7% involved at least one untrained staff member; reporting completeness appears uneven in places.

On injuries and abuse investigations, LPRO combined injury categories for analysis and reported that about 12% of incidents in 2023–24 involved staff injuries and about 2% involved student injuries. LPRO also reviewed Department of Human Services abuse‑investigation data and estimated 82 calendar‑year allegations tied to wrongful restraint/seclusion that translated into 20 substantiations for the school‑year estimate; those 20 substantiations involved 16 individual staff members according to DHS case reporting.

LPRO emphasized data limitations: ODE incident reporting is incident‑level (not individual‑level), small‑count suppression creates uncertainty, ODE and DHS datasets are not directly linked and use different time windows (school year vs. calendar quarter), and reporting changes and definition differences make apples‑to‑apples interstate comparisons unreliable. LPRO said declines in incidents are evident but cautioned care in interpreting the magnitude and cause of changes.

No committee action was taken; members discussed balancing student safety and staff liability concerns and signaled interest in continued work and improved data linkage.