PAPPI stands for Parents And Profesionals for Positive Interventions

This page tracks the work of the PAPPI group to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion in schools and increase the use of positive behavioral supports.

We work via e-mail and hold a conference call once a month. Leave a note on the discussion page if you want to participate or e-mail gregsmithpm at gmail.com.

Goals

Faciliate the ability of parents to tell their story and be heard without retaliation.
Improve transparency about what is happening in schools and analyze data to demonstrate the use of restraint and seclusion.
Develop tools and information for school systems to help reduce the use of restraint and seclusion through positive behavioral support.
Increase the size of our group. Ensure that we have actionable tasks for new parents as they express a desire to be involved.
Improve the laws and regulations on restraint and seclusion.

Ways to volunteer

Join our e-mail list (contact gregsmithpm at gmail.com)
Particpate in monthly planning conference calls
Take a task from the to do list and do it! If it's not clear what to do, send an e-mail to the contact and ask for help. Once done, send an e-mail to the contact with closure.

New To Do List Ideas

These are ideas proposed by group members which need definition. The first step is to break the task down in to small parts which can be done in 30 minutes or less. Once that is done, people can pick these up, do them and send an e-mail saying what they did.

Create Online Petition

Find online petition tools. Determine what the petition should say and who it should be directed to. Possibly starting point is this article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/school-seclusion-restraint_n_2219091.html

Come up with a strategy to spread the word about the petition
Write the petition and submit it to the online site

Propose an update to MA laws

This recent ruling allows mechanical restraint with a doctor's note. Even if it is against the parents wishes.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bsea/rulings/11-5444.pdf

Contact lawyers at Disability Law Center, Mass Advocates for Children or elsewhere. Ask them to help propose a change in the law to address thie BSEA ruling.
Create a brief talking points write up which asks State Reps and Senators to propose a change in the law.
Find a lead rep/senator to propose the legislation. Get as many consituents as possible to contact them.

Campaigns

Campaign to Protect Rule 33 in Maine

The goal of this campaign is to generate 25 letters or e-mails and 5 phone calls to Maine State Legislators to protect their new regulations on restraint known as Rule 33.

See latest news about people who want to roll back that rule here

A link to find your Maine legislator http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm

Groups to contact

Put names of groups we should contact here or add them to the Google Spreadsheet or e-mail them to Greg and he will post them

Possible starting point here: http://www.mainecgc.org/partners.html
Find a contact for these listservs: Maine Children’s Trust, Maine Roads to Quality, and Head Start. They are used by early childhood educators so some may be in favor and others not.
Google Docs Spreadsheet of contact organizations: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuuznGZd5DK3dFhURVhiV2pLR1pmdUVnWmdYdzFCdHc

Message to use when contacting people in Maine

Write a short, focused explanation of why the new rule is important

Possible sources to make the argument: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-ellen-stevens/trauma-sensitive-schools_b_1625924.html and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-ellen-stevens/traumasensitive-schools-part-two_b_1632126.html

Write an e-mail which can be shared to ask people to contact their legislator including a sample letter. Make sure to ask people to tell us if they did it for tracking purposes. Consider one version for residents of Maine and another for people outside Maine.

Sample Maine e-mail

Collect links describing Rule 33. Start here: http://www.maine.gov/education/rulechanges/chapter33/index.html

Other ideas

Choose an online petition or other tool to generate interest
Write a press release describing the impact of restraint on children in Maine and promoting the campaign to protect rule 33. Break this in to sub-tasks as needed (e.g. research impact, create protect rule 33 web page, etc).

From R-S to PBIS, One District at a Time

This is our first campaign. The goal is to look closely at one school system and see if we can help make a difference there. We start by gathering data. Then we reach out to people in the community. Then we offer resources and support to help them improve the policies and practice in their schools.

We picked Lewiston, Maine as our first target school system because we found data suggesting it's incidence of restraint is higher than the norm. We also have experience in Maine based on work to update the regulations there. After we learn from this first city, we should be able to apply a similar methodology to other school systems.

The campaign will be a success when:

The regulations in Lewiston are updated to conform to the new state wide regulations.
There is a group of parents and others in Lewiston who are empowered to continue tracking and working on this issue.
We have documented the process of the campaign and can replicate it in other school systems.

This campaign addresses groupwide goals 1,2,3 and 4.

Contacts

Contact Greg gregsmithpm at gmail dot com for help with tasks or more information.

To Do List

Less than 30 Minute Tasks

Collect data on Lewiston from Federal site: http://ocrdata.ed.gov/ and post it.

The task above is currently being worked on, please pick a different task or do this work on a different city or town. Gregorio 13:47, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Write overview of the data (e.g. what are the key points, how does it compare to statewide data)
Find and post links to Lewiston school system policies and special education programs.
Find e-mails and if possible names of parents in Lewiston who are involved in Special Education. Save them but don't post them online.
Collect contact names and e-mails addresses of people we want to influence (mostly school board members). Save them but don't post them online.
Research news and artciles on education in Lewiston.
Search for contacts in the provider community and at the state level who are motivated to help in Lewiston

30 - 60 minute Tasks

Think about the 30 minute tasks, add detail, add new ones and break them down in to smaller sub-tasks.
Update and edit the campaign objectives and purpose. Explain why Lewiston and why we, as outsiders, should be involved there.
Write the first draft table of contents for a packet of information we can share with parents and others in Lewiston. It should express concern for the issue, identify gaps in policies and offer resources and ways to make things better

Other open areas of work

When the message and people to deliver it are final, reach out to the school board and administration
Leave behind a group of empowered parents and others who can continue to work in the community. Get regular updates on how it's going and support them.
Once we run a campaign like this in one city or town, we document how to do and move on to the next one.

Meeting minutes

Next conference call, Thursday January 17th, 8PM contact gregsmithpm at gmail.com for details and dial in info.

PAPPI Minutes

News

Maine News

Rule 33 in Maine improves the regulations on restraint and seclusion. See: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/071/071c033.doc
See a side by side comparison of the new and old rules here: http://www.maine.gov/education/rulechanges/chapter33/comparison.pdf

Articles which motivated Maine to update regulations

Children held down: Families questions use of therapeutic restraints in Maine public schools
More parents report student restraints; Maine Dept. of Education downplays concerns
'I thought I was the only one': 3 kids, 3 years, nearly 100 school restraints
Scarborough School Board considers changes to restraint, privacy policies
Maine Dept. of Education warns schools about use of 'dangerous restraints'

Recent news from organizations asking for changes to Rule 33

Article describing push back from education administrators to the new rule:
http://www.kjonline.com/news/Maine-teachers-union-reports-dozens-of-student-on-teacher-assaults.html

Articles on the teachers union raising concerns about the new rule:
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/26/education/mea-dozens-of-educators-assaulted-in-wake-of-changes-to-restraint-rules/
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-teachers-union-reports-dozens-of-student-on-teacher-assaults.html?searchterm=restraint+%26+seclusion
http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/24859/Default.aspx

National News

ABC News Investigative Report:

Thousands of autistic and disabled schoolchildren have been injured and dozens have died after being restrained by poorly trained teachers and school aides who tried to subdue them using at times unduly harsh techniques, an ABC News investigation has found.

With no agreed upon national standards for how teachers can restrain an unruly child, school officials around the country have been employing a wide array of methods that range from sitting on children, to handcuffing them, even jolting them with an electric shock at one specialized school. Some have locked children in padded rooms for hours at a time.

One Kentucky teacher's aide is alleged to have stuffed 9-year-old Christopher Baker, who is autistic and was swinging a chair around him, into a draw-string duffle bag.

See: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/abc-news-investigation-moms-fight-back-against-harsh-methods-to-restrain-students-with-special-needs/

Links, documentation, ideas and comments

Training on positive behavior support http://www.pbis.org/common/pbisresources/publications/SWPBS_ImplementationBlueprint_vSep_23_2010.pdf

Recent ruling by BSEA in MA allowing Mechanical Restraint based on a school doctor seeing a short video:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bsea/decisions/11-5444a.doc

Media coverage generated by Op Ed in New York Times:
http://terrifyingdiscipline.weebly.com/index.html

Motivational article http://www.copaa.org/public-policy/standing-in-our-own-shoes/

Federal resource document:
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/seclusion/restraints-and-seclusion-resources.pdf

Online training for influencing people:
http://www.partnersinpolicymaking.com/makingyourcase/

Documents collected in Maine initiative to update regulations:
http://www.maine.gov/education/rulechanges/chapter33/resources.html

Another concerning r/s article
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2012/10/25/rsu-9-staff-facing-challenges-under-new-rule/1271392

Dissertation on how best to train teachers on reducing the use of restraint and seclusion.
http://wiki.laptop.org/images/f/f4/PREVENTION_AND_REDUCTION_OF_RESTRAINT_AND_SECLUSION_IN_PUBLIC_SCHOOLS-_A_COMPREHENSIVE_APPROACH_Nancy_I._Macias-Smith_Doctoral_Project_2012.pdf

A guide book for training teachers on how gto avoiod the use of restraint and seclusion.
http://wiki.laptop.org/images/2/28/FINAL_GUIDEBOOK_Nancy_I_Macias-Smith_04_11_2012_REV_SL_JL_BL_NMS_v2-1-.docx

Article about a positive approach http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/10/17/schools-gains-positive-behavior/16670/

SWPBIS success story http://www.toledoblade.com/Education/2012/10/30/Positive-behavior-strategy-seeks-to-lessen-discipline-gap.html

Issues in Ohio that is similar to the push back in Maine: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/04/state-plan-a-burden-schoolssay.html

Positive interventions being used in Ohio: http://www.toledoblade.com/Education/2012/10/30/Positive-behavior-strategy-seeks-to-lessen-discipline-gap.html