List of Materials to Ask Your District for re “CPI-Certified/Trained Staff”

December 6, 2009

By Jennifer Searcy
Founder/Director of Public Policy & Affairs
The Coalition for Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports

The following is a list of resources and materials which CPI provides to the districts/personnel/individuals CPI has trained, as evidence of what CPI teaches. This information is to be made available from school districts to parents/advocates upon request:

1. A Participant Workbook: This work book includes both pictorial and narrative descriptions of the different types of de-escalation and restraint techniques CPI trains.

Although this workbook is copyrighted and your district may not personally reproduce any portion of the workbook, you can ask the district to either give you access to their copy OR you could ask them to order a copy for you.

Please note: If you are ever in doubt about a technique personnel may have used on your child, ask them to show you the photograph of the technique they used, as outlined in CPI's Participant Workbook. If they cannot, or if you cannot find either a photographic or narrative description of a technique described to you, then personnel may have used a technique which is not “CPI-approved.” This needs to be reported to CPI at info@crisisprevention.com and/or us at tcfpbis@gmail.com immediately. Additionally, if the district refuses to provide you access to the CPI Participant Workbook, please contact CPI at info@crisisprevention.com and/or us at tcfpbis@gmail.com immediately.

2. An Instructor Manual: Every CPI-Certified Instructor is provided with a trainer’s manual which provides them with everything he/she needs to effectively conduct and customize training sessions, including a module which is used to educate parents/advocates on CPI’s philosophy and techniques.

Please note: If the district cannot produce the instructor's manual, or refuses you access to the manual, or if the district refuses to schedule an appointment with a trainer who could review the parent/advocate training module with you, please contact CPI at info@crisisprevention.com and/or us at tcfpbis@gmail.com immediately.

3. Identification Cards with Annual Training Date: Individuals who have completed CPI training are issued identification cards, which contains the date the individual was certified.

Please note: CPI requires annual recertification, so this “certification date” is very important. If identification cards cannot be presented, or if the certification date is more than one year ago, then the personnel may not be/may no longer be certified. If you are concerned about an individual’s certification, please contact CPI at info@crisisprevention.com and/or us at tcfpbis@gmail.com immediately.

Some additional things to know/consider:

CPI does not train in seclusion! So if your district is using/has used seclusion and/or seclusion rooms, and if they are claiming to be following “CPI training” for seclusion/seclusion rooms, then they are lying to you and should be reported to CPI at info@crisisprevention.com and/or us at tcfpbis@gmail.com immediately!

CPI also does not train restraint as discipline, punishment, nor convenience of staff; CPI is about avoiding restraint and seclusion! So if your district is using/has used restraint as discipline, punishment, or for staff’s convenience, please contact CPI at info@crisisprevention.com and/or us at tcfpbis@gmail.com immediately!

National Zogby Survey Reveals Trends in School Violence

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-zogby-survey-reveals-trends-in-school-violence-70298127.html

BROOKFIELD, Wis., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Crisis Prevention Institute, the world's leading training organization specializing in the safe management of disruptive and assaultive behavior, today announced the results of a nationwide survey conducted by Zogby International, which revealed that a majority of K-12 school teachers believe their classrooms are more prone to violence than they were five years ago.

Over 55 percent of the teachers surveyed said their schools are more likely to experience disruptive behavior, with 76 percent experiencing verbal confrontations, 65 percent experiencing school fights and 36 percent witnessing abuse of a staff member in the past year.

"This temperature check on violence in American schools reveals that a significant majority of teachers believe that improved training in diffusing and de-escalating situations will help them prevent and safely deal with crisis situations," said Tony Jace, CEO, Crisis Prevention Institute. Over two-thirds of teachers surveyed said they would like to be better prepared to deal with incidents that may occur. "National, state and local policy-makers should take note of the need to provide our school teaching staff with the resources to address situations that might arise," Jace added.

General education teachers surveyed reported they lag behind special education teachers in receiving staff training in dealing with potential classroom violence (43 percent vs. 80 percent). Correspondingly, a significant majority (82 percent) of special education teachers say they feel comfortable that their training equips them to deal with disruptive behavior.

"While the survey points to escalating rates of violence in American schools, the encouraging news is teachers' confidence in making critical decisions in the chaotic moments of crisis situations improve as they receive ongoing skills based training," said Judith Schubert, president, Crisis Prevention Institute. "Despite tightly stretched school budgets, quality in-service training to build competencies in preventing and safely diffusing crisis situations is an imperative in today's school environment."

School safety has received significant national attention, thanks in part to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study identifying hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death resulting from improper use of seclusion and restraint techniques in schools across the nation. In response to the GAO report, Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote a letter to Chief State School Officers asking them to submit guidelines to ensure sensible policies are in place. Several states have begun this process, reviewing and updating policies and procedures, creating task forces, and in some cases passing legislation.

Key Facts from the Survey

• 28 percent of general education teachers have had students with weapons present in their school in the last year.
• 34 percent of teachers cited "fear of litigation" as a factor that has impacted schools' progress in reducing or preventing aggressive incidents.
• Support from school administration and adequate classroom staffing were cited as the two most effective steps schools can take to address aggressive student behavior.
  

"This poll confirms that training matters and is the preferred approach to address school violence," said Dr. Randy Boardman, executive director of research and development, Crisis Prevention Institute. "In the wake of recent highly publicized incidents of school violence, it is critical that education policy leaders take concrete steps to ensure that school safety plans are adopted and implemented and that on-going training in violence prevention and intervention are key components of those plans."

Zogby surveyed a representative sample of K-12 special education and general education teachers between September 26 and October 5, 2009; the survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent for general education teachers. Access the entire survey from Zogby International at http://www.crisisprevention.com/survey/educators-survey-results.asp.

For more information about CPI please visit http://www.crisisprevention.com.

SOURCE Crisis Prevention Institute

MD: Parents worried about ‘seclusion rooms

Seven Frederick County schools have rooms intended to help calm violent or over-agitated students

by Margarita Raycheva | Staff Writer

http://www.gazette.net/stories/12032009/newmnew161747_32541.php

A confined space with bare walls, linoleum floor, no furniture and a window for observation.

That is how educators describe "seclusion rooms" used to subdue violent or over-agitated special education students in seven Frederick County schools.

And Carla Papaioannou cringes at that thought.

Papaioannou had no idea until this year that Carroll Manor Elementary, at which she has two children, has a seclusion room.

When she discovered it — just down the hallway from her daughter's colorful and cozy classroom — it wasn't only the tiny space and the bare, unfinished walls that troubled her.

"It's like this big secret that is going on," said Papaioannou, who also has a kindergartner with autism. "Aesthetically, it is a very scary place. ... It is not a clinical setting."

Papaioannou told the Frederick County Board of Education about her concerns on Nov. 23 after finding out that the board was thinking about building one in Oakdale Elementary School.

"I am concerned about the training of the staff at the school," Papaioannou said. "Who decides to put the kids in that room?"

Teachers, according to county educators, decide when a student needs to be secluded, and they do not take the decision lightly.

"Only a very small percentage of students need this kind of intervention," Pam Pencola, the school system's director for special education and psychological services, told the school board. "It is a very serious step."

Seclusion can be used for any student, but is typically used on students who have special needs, Pencola told the board.

In fact, all seven Frederick County schools that have a seclusion room also have the Challenges or Pyramid programs, which serve students with severe autism and sensory issues and extreme behavior problems.

School system staff follows strict regulations for the use of seclusion rooms and are required to record every instance when they are used, Pencola said.

She did not specify how often schools use seclusion rooms because The Gazette had already requested that information through the Freedom of Information Act.

A Maryland law enacted in 2003 governs the use of seclusion, and local school systems have regulations based on that law.

For example, educators can only place a student in seclusion if the child becomes a safety threat or if seclusion is written in that child's individual education plan. Destruction of school property is not considered sufficient grounds for the use of seclusion.

Educators can seclude a child only after other interventions fail, and for no longer than 30 minutes straight. They must also constantly monitor a child in seclusion, and inform the child's parents.

But state law does not require school systems to systematically report the use of seclusion rooms to the Maryland State Department of Education.

The department, however, does investigate complaints about that practice, said Donna Riley, branch chief at the Maryland State Department's Division for Special Education and Early Intervention Services. Riley does not recall receiving complaints from Frederick County.

Riley said research has shown the seclusion does not help students in the long term, and the state department discourages the practice.

Instead, the state trains educators to look for the cause of outbursts and behavior problems. A fluorescent light or a noisy air conditioner can trigger aggressive behaviors, especially in students with autism and sensory issues.

If teachers can identify those triggers in individual students, they can avoid the need for seclusion. "It is much better to use that positive model," she said.

Riley encourages school systems not to build seclusion rooms. "I tell them: ‘Don't even go there.' There is a much better way," she said.

Still, Frederick County educators defended the practice, and said they use seclusion rooms as a last resort. Seclusion, educators say, is a necessity today when public schools educate much more students with severe problems, rather than institutionalizing them.

"This room is not used for normal bad behavior," said schools Superintendent Linda Burgee, the Frederick County Schools Superintendent, who encouraged parents to turn to their individual schools if they have other concerns.

"We would welcome the possibility to follow up on your comments," she told parents, who spoke to the board on Nov. 23.

But parents who attended the meeting were not satisfied.

They urged the school board to check if schools use of seclusion rooms according to regulations, and questioned the effect that the use of seclusion rooms can have on other students.

Seclusion rooms go against the efforts to mainstream special education students, and only prevent students from learning and being in the classroom, said Michele Clune, a parent with students at Tuscarora Elementary and the Monocacy Valley Montessori Charter School.

They are not a solution to behavioral problems and cannot help educators find the real reasons causing students to act out. Special education teachers have other strategies to calm down over-agitated students, and should not need to shut students in a confined space, Clune said.

"Seclusion rooms do not have a place in our schools," she said. "They could just deal with them without a quiet room."

Leslie Seid Margolis, a managing attorney at the Maryland Disability Law Center, concurred. She said seclusion is an "archaic" method of working with students, which has proven to be ineffective, and could be potentially traumatic and dangerous for students.

"Ideally, we don't think there should be seclusion rooms," Margolis said. "It's a potentially dangerous procedure that has no place in a school setting."

She said the law center has investigated a number of cases in which students were hurt or traumatized because of improper use of seclusion rooms.

Just recently, Margolis closed a case on a student who was restrained three times in one day and then sent to an emergency room covered in bruises. Margolis would not specify where the incident happened, but it was not in Frederick County, she said.

In another older case, teachers forgot about a student placed in seclusion. The child was found at the end of the school day because a bus driver asked about the student. The law center used the case as evidence when they testified for the need to create a statewide legislation governing the use of seclusion in 2003, Margolis said.

Since then Maryland has started moving in the right direction and county school systems must follow.

"It's not just a money issue, it's a training issue," Margolis said. "The state has just begun to recognize that there is a significant lack of qualified training. That is the piece that has been missing."

E-mail Margarita Raycheva at mraycheva@gazette.net.

The following Frederick County Public Schools have a seclusion room:

Carroll Manor Elementary

Lewistown Elementary

Middletown Elementary

Middletown Primary

Oakdale Middle

Rock Creek

Gov. Thomas Johnson High

Parents who have concerns or complaints about the use of seclusion in their schools can call the Maryland Disability Law Center at 410-727-6352 between 10 a.m. and noon.

MD: School seclusion rooms come out of the dark

By Marge Neal
News-Post Staff
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=98306

Originally published November 27, 2009

A planned addition to Oakdale Elementary School will include classrooms, restrooms, a faculty room -- and a seclusion room.

Seclusion rooms are used to isolate a child -- most often a special-education student -- who poses a physical threat to himself or others, or is disrupting the educational process, Pam Pencola told the Frederick County Board of Education this week.

After looking over the Oakdale plans, board members recently asked school officials to explain the use of seclusion rooms, which are seldom acknowledged or discussed in public.

"A very small percentage" of students need this kind of intervention on a regular basis, said Pencola, the school system's director of special education and psychological services.

She described the use of a seclusion room as a "very serious step" and said staff members employ many other strategies before isolating a student.

The school system already has seclusion rooms at Carroll Manor, Lewistown and Middletown elementary schools, Oakdale Middle, Gov. Thomas Johnson High and Rock Creek School. One is being built at Middletown Primary School.

At Rock Creek, the room is used for students with severe cognitive impairments who may also have behavior disorders, according to the report to board members.

At the other schools, the seclusion room is used for students in the Challenges or Pyramid programs. Challenges serves students ages 3 to 21 who have autism or severe communicative disorders, Pencola said. Pyramid is a K-12 program for students with significant emotional and behavioral needs.

At Lewistown Elementary, which houses the county's only elementary Pyramid program, parental consent is required to use the seclusion room as a behavior modification tool, principal Amy Schwiegerath said.

"A parent must sign the permission slip or be a part of the team decision-making process for the seclusion room to be used," she said.

The principal is notified every time the room is used, Schwiegerath said. A log is kept of all uses, and an incident report is filled out each time seclusion or restraint is used. Parents are to be notified within 24 hours of these techniques being used on their children. Lewistown also holds a staff debriefing after each use.

The seclusion room at Lewistown is about six feet square with a ceiling about eight feet high. The walls are covered with carpet from floor to ceiling. The floor is tiled with linoleum. In the ceiling is a light fixture, as well as a camera that allows constant observation of the student. The light switch is outside the room. The room is free of electrical outlets or anything else that could harm a student.

A calming place

Frederick County Public Schools use seclusion rooms in accordance with the Code of Maryland Regulations, which provides the legal definition and authority for their use. The FCPS policy on the rooms mirrors the state's parameters.

At Lewistown, students in the Pyramid program benefit from a team approach that includes general educators, special educators, administrators and clinical social workers, Schwiegerath said.

"The kids who come here come through the county's (individualized education plan) process," she said. "It's a highly structured program."

Thirty-three students are in Pyramid. Lewistown has another 160 students in its general education program.

Karen Williams, a licensed clinical social worker at Lewistown, said the seclusion room is used once or twice a day for "true seclusion events." The room might also be used at the request of a child.

"Our students know how to self-advocate," she said. "A student will ask for five or 10 minutes in the room to calm themselves down.

"A student might ask to have five minutes in the room with the door open and the lights out."

When a child with psychiatric or behavioral disorders is out of control, the cause is often sensory overload, Williams said. Putting a child in the room takes away the stimulation that has the child worked up and allows him or her to decompress.

The school system uses the Crisis Prevention Institute's techniques for de-escalation, Williams said.

The institute is an international training organization that specializes in the safe management of disruptive and assaultive behavior, according to its website.

Williams is a CPI-certified trainer and provides training to her colleagues.

"We must be annually trained and annually refreshed," she said. "And that's according to COMAR and FCPS."

Parents, when they first come to visit the Lewistown Pyramid program, are hesitant about the restraint and seclusion techniques, Schwiegerath said.

"But it is a last resort and is safety-oriented. We use this room for the safety of the child and the safety of others around him."

"The concept of seclusion and restraint always makes people nervous -- and it should," Williams said. "It's a very serious intervention, and should only be used to match the level of seriousness of the behavior being disciplined.

"We employ this tool in a professional, appropriate and positive manner. It's a necessary thing at times."