Making an appearance at school board August 28, Stanley-Boyd Pupil Services Director Krystle Bacha gave the annual seclusion and restraint report for the school district.

Composed of two parts, the report deals with the number of seclusions and physical restraints of students in the district over the previous year, as addressed in Wisconsin Act 118 from 2019, which revised the prior law addressing such reports.

Applying to both special education and regular education students and staff alike, the annual report is mandated by the state.

“What I have is information on the requirements along with definition of seclusion and restrains,” Bacha said.

The Pupil Services Director reported that the previous year at Stanley-Boyd had seen five seclusions pertaining to two students, with seven restraints spread among three students. All the students in question had disabilities, she said.

For reporting purposes, seclusion is defined as, “the involuntary confinement of a student, apart from other students, in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving,” while physical restraint is defined as, “a restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to freely move his/her torso, arms, legs, or head.”

Afterwards board president Denise Hoffstatter had a question.

“Is it CPI?” she asked of seclusion, with Bacha answering in the affirmative. CPI stands for Crisis - Prevention - Intervention, and involves a designated room built into a special education classroom where the door shuts, but doesn’t lock.