Are De-Escalation Rooms Needed In Schools?

By Gordon HopkinsWhile teachers have always had to deal with sometimes rowdy students, there are times when the behavior of a child goes beyond simply being disruptive and may become dangerous, even violent. Many years ago, such a child would simply be made to leave school, suspended or even expelled. In recent decades, however, changes in laws and regulations, notably the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, have required school staff to handle students with behavioral problems, to ensure all children receive an education.One of the tools school staff have at their disposal is what is called a de-escalation room, sometimes referred to as a time-out room or seclusion room. The purpose of such a room is to manage physical and emotional outbursts by providing a student a place away from other students, giving the child a chance to calm down, avoiding the possibility that a student may harm himself or herself or another child.Recently, there have been concerns expressed on social media about the use, or possible misuse, of de-escalation rooms at Fairbury Public Schools.One individual wrote, “These rooms were built specifically to create a restraint for children they don’t support who have behavioral struggles due to not receiving proper accommodations which the school is supposed to provide.”NDE GuidelinesThis complaint is not unique to FPS. Schools across the country use de-escalation rooms.In 2010, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) published guidelines called, “Developing School Policies & Procedures for Physical Restraint and Seclusion in Nebraska Schools,” which includes the use of de-escalation rooms and are still in use today.FJN reached out to NDE. According to Public Information Officer David Jespersen, “As noted in the document, with physical restraint, there is nearly universal agreement that seclusion should only be used in emergency situations where there is immediate risk of injury to the student or others. The use of seclusion is simply to allow the student to restore behavioral self-control in a safe environment; it should not be a punishment or disciplinary measure.”Jespersen also pointed out, “Though there are guidelines around restraint and seclusion in schools, there are no federal laws governing how they can be used. And they’re most often used on students with disabilities. Restraint or seclusion may be employed with any student and may be used by general education teachers and administrators as well as by special education staff. Specifically, any student who poses a danger to self or others could potentially be restrained or secluded whether that student has a disability or not. As a result, local school district policies on physical restraint and seclusion should not be embedded with other special education policies but should be included in district wide policies which apply to all students and staff.”FPS De-escalation RoomsFPS has de-escalation rooms at all three schools, Central Elementary, Jefferson Intermediate and Junior-Senior High School.FJN contacted FPS Psychologist Dr. Jill Timmons, who said, “Yes, we do have de-escalation rooms that are used in accordance with guidance from a variety of sources including the US Department of Education, the Nebraska Department of Education and aligned with district policies.”On social media, some have described these room as “padded rooms” and another person accused school staff of locking students in the rooms and leaving them.“Yes, the rooms have padding as there are some students who can be so unsafe to themselves (self-harming behaviors) the padding is to protect them,” said Dr. Timmons. “No, the doors are not locked and, in fact, do not even have a lock on them.”FJN was given permission to examine and take photographs of the de-escalation rooms and confirmed there are no locks on the doors. The walls are lined with two-inch padding.According to High School Principal Sean Molloy, the de-escalation room at FPS High School has not been used once this school year. At least, not for its intended purpose. The high school’s de-escalation room is currently being used for some storage and, occasionally, by students for various projects.Likewise, Dr. Timmons emphasized the rooms not the first option for dealing with disruptive students, “The rooms are rarely used as we have many other strategies we utilize for students so when they are used they are a last resort. They are available when a student is so unsafe to themselves or others that the only way we can maintain safety is by utilizing this space.”Timmons said, “It is also important to know the room is utilized in addition to many other things including: consistent implementation of a structured environment, clear expectations, positive student to staff relationships, teaching replacement behaviors, positively recognizing appropriate behaviors, using de-escalation techniques, often classroom or content accommodations and modifications, etc. In other words, we would never have a plan for a student that didn’t focus on teaching missing skills and reinforcing appropriate behavior. Our very first strategy is to figure out what skill needs to be taught and how/when to do that. There is no such thing as a plan for a student that only involves these rooms.”Last year, over 100 individuals, including parents and teachers, attended a meeting of the Fairbury Public School Board. A number of those individuals expressed fears about possible violence in school.“For parents who are concerned about school safety, this should make them feel at ease to know that if a student became so unsafe that they themselves, staff or students were unsafe, there is a place for the student to go so that school safety can be maintained,” said Dr. Timmons. “For parents who are worried their child may go into the room, hopefully they too feel at ease when they realize it would only happen in an extreme case where safety was a concern and de-escalation strategies were unsuccessful. I would guess that 98-99% of our students will never utilize this room, however if a child was placed in this room for safety concerns a parent would be notified.”“I am hopeful this raises the awareness that as a school we are trying to partner with families and their support is vital to the success of their students,” aid Timmons. “I am also hopeful that our community can see ALL of our school staff work very hard every day to maintain a safe and effective learning environment for all students. There is not a person at our school who wants to utilize those rooms or have an escalated student where someone could get hurt. That is why we work so hard to teach de-escalation strategies to adults, self-regulation and coping skills to students and maintain a structured, consistent, positive and predictable environment for our students.”

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