DPI releases state data for seclusion and restraint use during ‘22-’23 year
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released a new report Tuesday, showing a decrease in the number of incidents in Wisconsin public schools using seclusion or physical restraint.
DPI officials said 5 out of the 42 schools in the Green Bay Area Public School District reported at least one seclusion or restraint incident.
To be clear, the law prohibits the use of seclusion or physical restraint by school staff except in very limited circumstances. It has to be a last resort option, and there has to be a very clear and imminent risk to the safety of other students and school staff.
DPI officials said there were a total of four seclusions and 14 restraints reported at Green Bay Area Public Schools. That is a low number taking into context the district’s large size, but officials say there is always room for improvement.
The newly released report breaks down the state into 12 cooperative educational service agencies, commonly known as CESA.
Statewide, schools reported 5,396 instances of seclusion and 6,366 instances where physical restraint was used. That’s a decrease of 8.7% and 8% from the year prior.
“Restraining is when a student presents imminent to their safety or the safety of others,” said Tim Peerenboom, a School Psychology Consultant with DPI.
“We then analyze this data and take a look at which districts report higher numbers and we reach out to those districts and offer supports and other resources to reduce those really high numbers,” said Peerenboom.
The report shows elementary school students were involved at a higher percentage than other grades and numbers for students with individualized education programs -commonly known as IEP’s were involved at a higher rate; totaling 80% of all seclusion incidents and 78% of all physical restraint incidents.
“It is concerning because what we see in the trends, even though it’s hard to compare year-to-year those top-line numbers, the pattern that we do see is that it’s our youngest most vulnerable students who need the most support,” said Peerenboom.
The report shows a dip in numbers in 2020 during the pandemic when many schools did not have in-person classes. We see it climb in the 2021-2022 school year, but now, it’s dipped again, which DPIi attributes to awareness of issues in schools.
“The reduction that we’re seeing might be partially due to just us collecting the data and making it public and raising that public awareness. I think the public being aware and asking questions and working in their communities to address issues,” said Peerenboom.
DPI continues to work with schools throughout the state. Again, reaching out to districts that have higher numbers of these incidents. They then try to work through with resources available to those districts.
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