Spokane Public Schools’ use of restraints, isolation rooms increased again, but officials claim reporting error

For the second year in a row, Spokane Public Schools placed students in isolation rooms or restraints at a rate far higher than other districts in the 2017-18 academic year.

Two years ago, the district reported 4,890 incidents in which a student was restrained or isolated, according to data from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Last year, that number rose to 5,928, OSPI records show.

In contrast, Seattle Public Schools, a district with almost twice the enrollment of Spokane, reported 493 incidents in 2016-17 and 799 last year.

Tacoma Public Schools, whose enrollment of 30,000 is about the same as Spokane’s, reported 561 cases two years ago and 428 last year.

However, those numbers are distorted by overreporting – the district counted incidents that shouldn’t have been included – according to district spokesman Brian Coddington.

“My team is working with Spokane to analyze data and work on an improvement plan,” said Katy Payne, an official with the state superintendent’s office, said that OSPI officials expect to hold a conference next week with district leadership.

“We plan to provide professional development,” Payne said.

Coddington said the district is attempting to make sure that staff members are reporting incidents according to statewide standards.

“We’ve taken a very proactive approach in how we record and then report data,” Coddington said. “We’re looking for trends and where we need to improve.”

Coddington added that last month the district made changes in its training model to emphasize de-escalation techniques and avoid more extreme methods.

“We’re trying to look into individual incidents and try to understand what’s behind them,” Coddington said.