Dear Editor Re: Safe rooms up for district discussion, The Record, Aug. 7. As parents of students with special needs in school district No. 40, my son and Tiffany Paul's son are most likely not the only students being placed in these "quiet rooms" or "safe rooms" or "isolation rooms" when they are in distress while apparently there are no district policies and protocols for using these rooms.
I would like to ask Michael Ewen, chairperson of board of education; Dr. John Woudzia, superintendant of school district 40; and Janet Grant, director of student services, the following questions: What are the current policies and protocols in using "safe rooms?" What is the training for staff in using the "safe rooms" and by whom? Where is the evidence of agreement from parents? I completely agree with comments from Paul, a New Westminster parent, and Faith Bodnar, executive director of Inclusion B.C., that "there needs to be a profound level of training around behaviour support for children with special needs at schools." Yet, from our IEP (individual education plan) meeting at New Westminster Secondary School last June, the school team stated that they were willing to work with a qualified behaviour consultant with a board certified behaviour analyst (BCBA) designation, yet the school district continued to decline a behaviour consultant's involvement to assist the school team to implement and follow up with the recommendations made by the behaviour consultant.
Also, there are issues and contradictions between the strategies used in the staff safety plan and behaviour support plan.
Ewen continues making comments that are upsetting to me, as they do not reflect the realities in what's actually happening in schools.
I agree with Paul's comment that "our experience has not been the picture painted by Ewen in the article."
For us, we share a similar experience at NWSS, where our son has been placed in the "safe room" under distress, even though we have expressed our concerns and have been opposed to its use for a few years.
This led to our appeal to the board of education in June 2011, with Ewen as the chairperson of the appeal committee.
The "safe room" or "personal learning space" continued being used since the deliberations were made in November 2011, even though our family persistently pursued our concerns for the health and safety of our son with the school district and NWSS.
Does the board of education not have any obligations to follow up with its deliberations made in using a "safe room" when apparently there is "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?" It was the lack of information on how the "safe room" was to be used and how long it was to be used and the health and safety concerns for our son that we filed the appeal to the board of education in June 2011.
Still, there is no formal policy to-date in using the "safe room" or physical restraint, which includes using a "safe room" or really an "isolation room," when a student is not allowed to leave.
Ewen's comments in the article, Safe rooms up for district discussion, that he hasn't heard concerns from parents at the board level. "I can tell you, in the last couple of years, there have been no cases that have come to the board," he said.
There were the deliberations made by the board of education in using the "safe room" in November 2011, even though there's still no formal policy of its use at the school district or school levels.
There are numerous email correspondences from our family to NWSS and school district administrators in which we oppose the use of the "safe room."
Our family, like others with children with special needs, have serious concerns about the lack of information and formal policies and protocols as well as training of staff on its use.
It is dangerous and causes harm emotionally and physically to students who may not even be able to self-report what has happened to them to their families.
I am certain that perhaps Ewen could find out from the school district office or the schools about the specifics in what's really happening in terms of how the "safe rooms" have been used.
In particular, with our son's case in which Ewen was involved in the appeal committee as the chairperson, it would not be difficult to find out, or follow up, with the implementation of the deliberations made by his committee members and himself allowing the NWSS to use the "safe room."
All students need to be treated with respect and care with appropriate interventions and strategies so that they can do their best with blessings and actualize or achieve their individualized gifts.
F.K. Chan
New Westminster
