Q&A Regarding Use of Seclusion for Crisis Prevention and Intervention

Why was little information provided to the media regarding the incident at Pierce Elementary School on April 5?
The District is bound by state and federal confidentiality laws regarding students and personnel. Although we
would like to be more transparent about the details of the incident at Pierce Elementary School, any additional
information offered in response to the questions asked could implicate student information that the District is
required by federal law (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) to keep confidential. Some responses may
also implicate personnel information required to be kept confidential under Iowa Code section 22.7(11).

Often, we must confer with legal counsel to ensure that we do not provide information to outside sources that
implicates confidentiality and privacy interests, such as confidential information about students. This takes time
and usually cannot be accomplished within hours, as the media often requests.

By law, the District is allowed up to 20 days to confer with legal counsel to ensure confidential information, as
outlined by Iowa Code, is not unlawfully provided in responses to questions from the media.

What are examples of questions the District cannot answer, using the April 5 incident at Pierce as an example?
How long was a student placed in seclusionary time out?
Why was a student placed in seclusionary time out?
What specific behaviors precipitated the need for crisis intervention in this situation?
What other strategies were used prior to seclusionary timeout?

Answers to questions including but not limited to these, which would provide a more detailed context to this
situation, could potentially identify the student. Thus, the District is prohibited from answering any such questions.

What is seclusion?
This is an unofficial term which fits within the context of the administrative rules of the Iowa Department of
Education, located at Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 103, Corporal Punishment Ban; Restraint; Physical
Confinement and Detention. As stated in Chapter 103, physical confinement and detention means the
confinement of a student in a time-out room or some other enclosure, whether within or outside the classroom,
from which the students egress is restricted.

Regarding physical confinement and detention, Chapter 103 states that no employee is prohibited from using
reasonable and necessary force, not designed or intended to cause pain, in order to remove a disruptive pupil from
class or any area of school premises, or from school-sponsored activities off school premises; to quell a disturbance
or prevent an act that threatens physical harm to any person; to obtain possession of a weapon or other
dangerous object within a pupils control; for the purposes of self-defense or defense of others as provided for in
Iowa Code section 704.3., for the protection of property as provided for in Iowa Code section 704.4 or 704.5.; to
remove a disruptive pupil from class or any area of school premises, or from school-sponsored activities off school
premises; to prevent a student from the self-infliction of harm.; to protect the safety of others.

What is a seclusion room?

This is an unofficial label to define what Iowa Chapter 103 calls, more generally, a time-out room or some other
enclosure, whether within or outside the classroom, from which the students egress is restricted.

Many districts throughout the country have designated rooms used as and labeled as break rooms, seclusion
rooms, safe rooms, time-out rooms, etc. However, there is no label for these rooms that is formally required
under Chapter 103.

What are the required physical features of a room in which seclusion is used, as required by Chapter 103?
As stated by Chapter 103, The area of confinement and detention shall be of reasonable dimensions, and shall be
free from hazards and dangerous objects or instruments, considering the age, size, and physical and mental
condition of the student subject to confinement and detention; there shall be sufficient light and adequate
ventilation for human habitation; a comfortable temperature shall be maintained, consistent with the facility that
includes the confinement and detention area. Additional rules regarding enclosures with lock mechanisms are
also included in Chapter 103.

How many schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District have a designated safe room?
In 2016-17, there were 13 schools with designated safe rooms to be used for crisis prevention and/or
intervention. These schools are:
Grant
Grant Wood
Harding
Harrison Connections
Hiawatha
Jackson
Jefferson
Kennedy
Pierce
Polk
Truman
Viola Gibson
Washington

Was the room used at Pierce Elementary School on April 5 the schools designated safe room?
The room used during the incident on April 5 at Pierce Elementary School was not a designated safe room. The
use of seclusion as a method of crisis prevention or intervention does not necessarily occur only in rooms labeled
as seclusion rooms or safe room and is not required by Chapter 103 to occur only in designated rooms.

Is the District concerned about providing appropriate and effective services to students who exhibit significant
behaviors?
Yes, and we are not alone. Meeting the needs of students in moments of behavioral crisis is a significant challenge
faced by schools across the nation. The District is committed to continuous improvement of its policies and
practices in meeting the needs of students with significant behavior needs, with a focus on crisis-prevention and
de-escalation.

What are the actions being taken by the District to improve the effectiveness of crisis prevention and
intervention techniques?

The District initiated a review of crisis prevention and intervention procedures with the Principal and staff
at Pierce. An initial session was held in the spring of 2017 and a more extensive review and training is
scheduled during staff pre-service in the fall.
Staff from throughout the District participated in a May in-service retreat on behavioral management
which emphasized positive behavior interventions and supports and methods for managing student
behavior to prevent and reduce significant behavior incidents.
Initial plans are underway to develop a formal task force (which we envision will include representatives
from the community, the District, Grant Wood AEA, and the Iowa Department of Education) which will
study our District-wide practices and continuum of services related to student behavior as outlined in
Chapter 103.
A Behavior Focus Coach was hired to assist Special Education Behavior Focus Teachers for the 2017-18
year and the District is considering hiring a third Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

*Complete information on Iowa Chapter 103 can be found at:

www.educateiowa.gov/sites/files/ed/documents/Chapter%20103%2C%20Administrative%20Rules%20on%20Secl
usion%20and%20Restraint.pdf