Northampton:SpecialEducation

Northampton Public Schools Special Education information and links. This is not an official Northampton public schools site. It is built entirely by volunteers (mostly Greg) and all information is subject to change and may contain errors

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PAC

Letter to School Committee

Dear School Committee Members,

I'm writing to share with you the PAC's recommendations for Northampton's Restraint & Seclusion policies. I shared the attached document with Nathan Ziegler on May 11, and when we spoke today, he indicated that he has considered it in the recommendations he will make tomorrow to the Rules & Policy subcommittee.

The PAC believes that Northampton should take a proactive stance on the issue of physical restraint in its public schools, and that the district's policy should require data collection about all incidents of physical restraint, regardless of the duration of those restraints. Without documentation of all incidents of restraint, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for administrators and school committee members to understand the extent to which restraint is being used with Northampton students, and to address issues that may arise if restraint is used unsafely or inappropriately.

In the 2009 CPR, the district was found out of compliance not just with civil rights with regard to restraint training, but in regard to the implementation of positive behavioral supports. When positive supports are absent, restraint is often the only tool teachers are left with given disabled children with challenging behavior. I am sure you have all heard the tragic stories of injury and even death due to restraint and seclusion in public schools that were aired at last year's Congressional hearings on the issue. For details, including a link to the GAO report on this issue, please see the National School Boards Association's brief on the topic. An investigation by COPAA includes at least one case from Northampton Public Schools (C56). As you no doubt are aware, a federal law on the issue is also under consideration, passed by the House in March.

The attached document includes the principles and key components that the PAC recommends our district's policy should include. On the second page, the document outlines recommendations made by two professional educators who examined Northampton's practices with regard to restraint. We hope that the School Committee will revise the policy to require the collection of data about all restraints and direct the administration to take action to implement the findings of the professionals who have examined Northampton's practices.

Thank you for your time in considering these recommendations and in addressing this important issue, which we believe is not just a matter of safety, but also represents an opportunity to express our community's values. We are of course available to answer any questions you may have and to provide additional information and support in efforts to address these serious issues.

All the best,

Cate Rowen Northampton SPED PAC Co-Chair