The head of a New Westminster-based agency that advocates on behalf of people with special needs is echoing the call for B.C.’s children’s watchdog to run an investigation into the use of isolation rooms in public schools.
Inclusion B.C.’s executive director, Faith Bodnar, agrees with the NDP’s education critic that Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is the best person to oversee an inquiry into the use of seclusion rooms for special needs students.
“We support Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond leading the inquiry,” Bodnar said. “She brings such a strong legacy and an integrity to an investigative process. Her work speaks for itself.”
Turpel-Lafond would offer an independent voice that would benefit all parties, Bodnar said.
NDP MLA Rob Fleming said today that an independent and robust investigation is needed into the matter, according to media reports.
The Record first reported on the issue of seclusion spaces, or safe rooms, being used in New Westminster in July. At the time, a local parent raised concern about a family whose son was being placed in a padded room at the high school against the wishes of the family. The family tried for years to have their situation dealt with and eventually left the district.
Following the story, The Record heard of two other parents in New Westminster whose children were also locked in the rooms against their will. The mother of a child who has Down syndrome was placed in an isolation room at his elementary school without her knowledge or consent from the age of six.
“This past year, we made it clear to school administration and staff that we do not want them using the room, and then towards the end of the year we found out our son was forcibly confined there again on several occasions by his special education assistant. What makes the use of these rooms so dangerous is that the district and schools have no formal policy around how they are to be used, there is no training for staff on how they are to be used, they do not keep records of who is put in them and for how long, and there seems to be no requirement to inform parents of their use,” she wrote.
For Bodnar, one of the issues is the fact that there isn’t a province-wide policy on the use of the rooms, and there is no tracking system in place. The issue isn’t related to students who may want a space they can go to be alone.
“What we are talking about are students being forced into those rooms through a variety of means and being forced to stay there,” Bodnar said.
After the Record report in the summer, Inclusion B.C. conducted a survey, which more than 300 parents and guardians responded to. After the results were revealed last month, Premier Christy Clark promised a probe into the use of the rooms.
Some of the most upsetting stories Bodanar read in the survey include children as young as five being forced in the rooms; reports of physical harm and pain being experienced by students; students being placed in darkened rooms, and students being dragged to the spaces.
Another student who happened to have a cellphone called 911 when he was placed in a room against his will.
“That tells you that when that child is experiencing fear and potential harm and harm being done to him, so he’s calling 911. It’s the responsible thing for him to do,” Bondar said.
It’s the province’s duty to followup on the concerns and devise a solution that ensure students’ emotional and physical safety, according to Bodnar.
“We know this is happening. It’s been reported to happen. It’s not being denied by school districts,” she said. “We have a duty now that we know to act together so that we can give educators the tools and the support they need so they do not have to resort to these kinds of aversive procedures with students. It’s wrong to be hurting students.”
As for New Westminster, district administrators and the district parent advisory council met in the summer to determine better practices for the use of isolation rooms in local schools.
After the meeting, the district announced certain standards: safe rooms could only be used if mandated in a student's individual education plan; use of the spaces was made voluntary; and rooms are visible to the outside and doors may not be locked, according to a letter to parents from district parent advisory council vice-chairperson Maya Russell.
Board of education chair Jonina Campbell said there are guidelines around the use of the spaces, but “they always welcome opportunities to make sure students are safe.”
“If the ministry would like to review this provincially, then we welcome the opportunity to work alongside them,” she said.
If any investigation found questionable practices in New Westminster, Campbell said the district would move to address that.
“At the end of the day, student safety is always our first priority,” she said. “I would be concerned about there being a perception that we weren’t doing that without a review, and if a review identified that then we would certainly look at that.”
The Record could not reach Turpel-Lafond at press time for comment.
