Crisis in the classroom

Exclusion, seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities in Ontario schools

Community Living Ontario recently issued findings that confirm inappropriate treatment of students in Ontario who have been held, strapped down, locked up alone or asked to stay home. The report suggests that the province doesn’t report or track these incidents.

Crisis in the Classroom: Exclusion, Seclusion, and Restraint of Students with Disabilities presents information from 54¹ caregivers of students with disabilities. Among the findings from children and youth represented in the survey:

• 29% had been isolated while in school, i.e., placed in a separate space away from their peers, often behind locked or blocked doors.
• 14% had been restrained while in school, including being held down on the ground, held while standing, and held while being forced to walk.
• 31% had been sent home or instructed to stay home because the school was unable to meet their needs.

“Schools should be a place of inclusion, belonging, and safety,” said Shawn Pegg, Director of Social Policy and Strategic Initiatives at Community Living Ontario, the organization that published the study. “It is incomprehensible that students with disabilities, some as young as five and six years old, are being physically restrained and separated from their peers. The fact that this is happening across the province shows an urgent need for action.

Seclusion frequency
Of the155 students who were secluded:

• 4% experienced physical injury or pain and 59% experienced emotional trauma or distress.

• Caregivers were unaware of who put the seclusions in place 21% of the time.

• Twenty percent indicated it was the principal, 20% the classroom teacher, and 18% a special education/resource teacher as the individual leading or enforcing the seclusion.

More than half of caregivers had not given permission for seclusion to be used on their child. Students were significantly more likely to be secluded:

• If their family had a lower level of education;
• If they were identified with a behaviour identification
• If they had a mild intellectual disability
• If they were younger.

This situation is not new and has been happening in schools for years. Crisis in the Classroom updates the data and paints a worrying picture of what students with disabilities are experiencing. For example, nearly half of students who were isolated experienced this more than ten times, i.e., on a regular basis. In more than a quarter of cases, caregivers first learned of the isolation from their child, and not from school staff.

“All children and youth have the right to be in school, and to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Elizabeth Garkowski of Ontario Parents for Education Support. “The fact that students are being forced to stay home because schools can’t meet their needs is unacceptable and shows a clear need for increased support in our classrooms.”

Detailed recommendations
Crisis in the Classroom provides detailed recommendations and calls to action for the Ontario Ministry of Education to implement changes that will make schools safe and healthy places for students with disabilities. Specifically the report calls for:

1) Increased access to appropriate and adequate staffing and other supports for students;
2) Increase access to trauma informed training for educational staff and administrators
3) Implementation of clear provincial regulations and policy on seclusion and restraint
4) Requirements for schools, school boards and the ministry to track and report on these incidents, and;
5) Implementation of clear provincial regulations and policy on exclusion and partial-day attendance

The lack of policy for standards around seclusion, exclusion, restraint and partial-day attendance at a provincial level has left it up to school boards to self-govern. This has led to a fragmented policy structure that some school boards undertake – while others do not yet have policies in place.

The reality of these findings for families and young children become stark when hearing parent’s speak of the horrors their children have faced in institutions meant to foster their growth and learning. One parent says “My son has spent a lot of time in a padded room within his school. I was not aware of this room initially until I picked him up earlier in the year while he was in there. Not a great experience as a parent. He is in this room daily due to behaviors and emotional dysregulation. The staff are not trained well at all in supporting children with behavioral issues and trauma. My son continues to be retraumatized at school and does not feel safe there.”

Parents unawares
A reoccurring theme is parent’s being kept in the dark about these practices unless asked directly – this lack of transparency is worrisome. Another parent reports; “My child has been restrained and secluded in past years, this was not communicated by the school until I asked. I had to hear it from members of the community who recognized my child and contacted me with what they had seen. No matter how much we make efforts to communicate, we don’t necessarily trust that this has not continued.”

Community Living Ontario isn’t the only organization to take note. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) says, “After years of funding cuts and policy changes… school boards simply do not have the ability to provide children with disabilities in this province with the supports, resources, and programs they need to succeed. The system is fundamentally broken.”

Other anecdotes include: “School staff have no training on how to work with children/youth who have suffered trauma and it shows when they try to impose discipline on a child in the midst of a mental health episode where the child is in fight or flight mode.”

“Strapped into an adaptive stroller and closed in a darkened room alone.”

“Disabled his power wheelchair.”

“Prior uses of restraint at school, small child hold etc. Used to be placed in a converted storage area as a ‘safe’ place.”

“BMS restraint used to secure child in seated position on floor.”

“I have asked my board for transparency and accountability here as there is no policy or procedure around restraint, seclusion or exclusion. It has been almost a full school year with no progress on that policy. At various times in the year, different people have denied aspects of my child’s restraint, seclusion and exclusion. We have never been given written documentation despite asking repeatedly. My child was deeply, deeply traumatized by restraint and seclusion.”

People for Education reinforces this systematic issue’s prevalence in Ontario schools in a report that shows 63% of Ontario elementary school principals reported instructing students with disabilities stay home because their support needs could not be met – for secondary school principals the stat is still well over half. The media has taken notice as well, with multiple reports on seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities coming out.

Ongoing isolation
Many students also lack a feeling of belonging at school. Given the kinds of experiences mentioned above, it is not surprising that a substantial proportion of caregivers indicated that their children do not feel that they belong or are valued in their schools:

• 27% rarely or never enjoy attending school;
• 24% rarely or never feel valued by school staff;
• 30% rarely or never feel accepted by their peers;
• 22% are often or always excluded from academic events or opportunities;²
• 2% are often or always excluded from extra-curricular or social events.

In the end the consensus is consistent, educators and staff are working hard to support students but doing so in a underfunded environment, with little training or resources to help school boards meet these complex needs in a manner that is effective and of course – ethical. The report highlights the directive of The Better Schools and Student Outcome Act (2023) which calls for a focus on developing important livelong skills. The report argues that letting these issues persist uncheck essentially goes against the directive of the act, and calls on the Ministry of Education to do better, for the sake of all children.