The Arc is working to end isolation* and limit restraint in schools, so we asked local school board candidates in King County about the issue.- Are they worried about use of isolation and restraint in their school district?
- Do they support ending isolation, chemical restraint, prone
(floor) restraint, and supine (wall) restraint?
-
Do they want to invest in training for alternatives to restraint and isolation?
- And, what should voters know about their commitment to keeping everyone, including students with disabilities, safe in school?
We shared this background information to educate them about the issue.
We heard back from 14 candidates in Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Lake Washington, Northshore, Seattle, and Tahoma school districts.
- Most (11) were worried about use of isolation and restraints in their school district.
- Most (12) supported ending the practices; 1 did not want to end isolation and certain types of restraint; another wasn't sure
- Several cited work underway in their school district to implement trauma-informed and therapeutic alternatives. Several also cited personal experience with the practices and its impact on them or a loved one.
- All supported investing in training on alternatives to restraint and isolation
We link to the responses, below. Candidates are organized by school district, which listed alphabetically. The Arc of King County does not endorse candidates. We asked about restraint and isolation and are sharing responses to educate candidates about the practices and to help voters assess what candidates knew or thought about the practices.
*Nationally, the practice is often referred to as seclusion. Washington state uses the term isolation.
Auburn School District
Auburn School District, No. 1
Sheila McLaughlin
McLaughlin questionnaire
McLaughlin supports ending isolation and certain types of restraint.
“I believe in the work we are doing in the Auburn School
District to include students with disabilities in general ed classrooms and
what we are doing to prevent the needs for restraints in our classrooms. More work always need done, but we are doing
good work here in Auburn.”
Auburn School District, No. 2
Arlista Holman
No questionnaire response
Auburn School District, No. 3
Valerie Gonzales
Gonzalez questionnaire
Gonzalez supports ending isolation and certain types of restraint.
“The Auburn school district board directors approved the
adoption of a new training program called "Safety cares." This
program is a way to train staff how to safely manage difficult behaviors by use
of prevention and de-escalation techniques and how to avoid the use of any form
of restraints or any form of isolation when encountering such situations
involving students presenting with physically escalating behaviors. I believe
if relationships are built, and staff are properly trained, the use of any type
of restraint would become very rare to non-existent in any district. There may
be special situations to prevent harm to another person, the child, or staff.
Those cases would be seen only on rare occasions and other plans should be
proven to have been properly used as ineffective interventions and me ones put
in place."
Dirk Dearinger
No questionnaire response
Auburn School District, No.
4
Laura Theimer
Bellevue School District
No responses
Enumclaw School District
No responses
Federal Way School District
Federal Way School District, No. 2
Jennifer Jones
No questionnaire response
Daniel Kukhar
No questionnaire response
Federal Way School District, No. 3
Luckisha Phillips
No questionnaire response
Christopher Dowllar
No questionnaire response
Federal Way School District, No. 5
Gavin Downing
No questionnaire response
Joan Marie Murphy
Murphy questionnaire response
Murphy does not support ending isolation and certain types of restraint.
"I have taught in Federal Way School District as a special ed teacher ancertain types of restraint.d
have been trained and used de-escalation methods. I found that asking
the kiddo: "Hey, what's going on?" gives them a chance to verbalize ,
and moves them out of their emotive state."
Highline School District
Highline School District No. 401, Director District No. 1
Stephanie Tidholm
No questionnaire response
Michael T. Lewis
No questionnaire response
Highline School District No. 401, Director District No. 4
Melissa Petrini
No questionnaire response
Carlos M. Ruiz
No questionnaire response
Highline School District No. 401, Director District No. 4
Azeb Hagos
Hagos questionnaire response
Hagos supports ending isolation and certain types of restraint.
She did not comment on what voters should know about her commitment to keeping everyone safe in school.
Issaquah School District
No responses
Kent School District
Kent School District No. 415, Director District No. 1
Andy Song
No questionnaire response
Kent School District No. 415, Director District No. 2
Andy Carter
No questionnaire response
Meghin Margel
No questionnaire response
Kent School District No. 415, Director District No. 3
Leslie Kae Hamada
No questionnaire response
Donald Cook
Cook questionnaire response
Cook is not sure if he supports ending isolation and certain types of restraint.
“I believe in providing a safe space for all students and staff in every
school. The reason I chose "Not sure" for my response is due to experiences
relayed to me from classroom teachers in our district. I do not wish for any
student to be restrained at any time, but I also understand the extreme
difficulty in handling a violent student in the moment. My goal is to make
these types of options unnecessary by providing an appropriate amount of
trained professionals who can handle a situation that currently might require
these types of options due to the lack of trained staff. If our state
legislators will commit to providing funding at appropriate levels to end these
practices, I fully support the changes required in our schools to make that
happen.”
Lake Washington School District
Lake Washington School District No. 414, Director District
No. 1
Eric Laliberte
No questionnaire response
Andy Market
No questionnaire response
Lake Washington School District No. 414, Director District
No. 2
Lisa Guthire
No questionnaire response
Lake Washington School District No. 414, Director District
No. 5
Lindsey Yocum
Yocum questionnaire response
Yocum supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
“I am fully committed to ensuring that ALL students are able
to learn in safe environments. Our district has policies in place to deal with reports
of restraint and isolation, but I also know that laws established by Washington
State will benefit all students in our state. As a teacher, I've witnessed
restraint and isolation being used against marginalized students. As a mom to
an IDD child who is minimally verbal, this is something that truly worries me
and is always on my mind. Our state and district need additional training for
staff, better evaluations of our learning environments for all students, and a
need for less punitive measures.”
Janel Schermerhorn
Schermerhorn questionnaire response
Schermerhorn supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
“Often when people take inappropriate actions, it's the
result of inadequate resources, training or education. Appropriate management
of student actions is one of the many components of inclusive education that
need to be reviewed in partnership with stakeholders to ensure that the
classroom environment, teacher training, and allocated resources set students
and teachers up for success.”
Mercer Island School District
No responses
Northshore School District
Northshore School District No. 417, Director District No. 2
Elisabeth Sotak
Sotak questionnaire response
Sotak supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
I am committed to creating policies which require training around behavior management, alternatives to removing children from their least restrictive environment and reassessing what gaps in skills educators have where they feel the need to touch or inhibit a child in ways that do not support a child's social emotional and physical well being. Behavior is communication and what tools do we need as adults to understand and support skill building for our children who need support and understanding and a plan to keep them safe the most? Those children who are impulsive, who have trauma, whose behavior doesn't fit neatly into the expectations of neurotypical society. Children often communicate in difficult ways, it is the adult caring for and teaching the child to figure out how to unlock that child's potential and give them skills to get their needs met safely and without restraint."
Northshore School District No. 417, Director District No. 3
Han Tran
No questionnaire response
Myriam Juritz
Juritz questionnaire response
Juritz supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
“This is a difficult area overall. I believe the law is a
big step in the right direction. I am committed to do what is best for our
students and families, so I have reached out to families to understand their
point of view. Some parents have acknowledged that their "daughter has
been isolated a few times, the biggest time was for the right reasons. This was
to avoid injury for herself and to the para, and to keep her from running off
the campus (which she would have done).” I am committed to appropriate
professional development. As mentioned before, parents have shared that “[they]
have witnessed the isolation of a student by a large group of teachers. This
child was restrained when he should not have been. Had the paras and teacher
known how to work within the scope of his disability, the restraint would not
have been required." I am committed to transparency. Again, as a follow up
from the previous conversation, it was shared with me that “even more startling
was that the school did not report the isolation. [This parent] told the mother
[she is friends with her]. She then did not get a report from the school even
when asked. She had to get legal involved in order to get the reports."
Renton School District
No responses
Riverview School District
No responses
Seattle School District
Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 1
Liza Rankin
Rankin questionnaire response
Rankin supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
"In my first term on the Seattle School Board, I have demonstrated my commitment
to student safety through leading on gun violence prevention efforts, advocacy
for increased support for student mental health, and I lead the changes in SPS
policy to eliminate isolation and limit restraint. I have also worked with
advocates from across the state to reduce isolation and restraint in all school
districts, and have been endorsed by Guy Stephens, founder and Executive
Director of Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint who says, ‘Liza is
committed to reducing and eliminating restraint and seclusion and creating
safer and more inclusive schools for all children, teachers, and staff.’
Debbie Carlsen
Carlsen questionnaire response
Carlsen supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
“I am committed to advocating for policies like eradicating restraint and
isolation and other policies that support student safety. I support educators
to be trained in Universal Design to help prevent disruptive behaviors in the
classroom. To learn more about my commitment to safety, especially for students
with disabilities please go to my Disability Justice page https://debbie4seattleschools.org/disability-justice...”
Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 2
Christina Posten
No questionnaire response
Lisa Rivera Smith
Rivera Smith questionnaire response
Rivera Smith supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
"As the parent of a student with an IEP, I know the fear that
students like mine will not receive an educational experience on par with their
non-disabled peers. So we need to be intentional about making our schools safe
and welcoming for those throughout the beautiful spectrum of abilities found in
our student body. I agree with the Crisis Response Workgroup’s recommendation
to eliminate isolation and chemical restraint; improve access to student
supports; increase training in de-escalation practices, and improve incident
reporting."
Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 3
Evan Briggs
Briggs questionnaire response
Briggs supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
“I adamantly oppose the use of isolation and restraint on students and
recognize that these methods can cause lasting trauma, especially to children
already experiencing marginalization within our school district. If elected I
pledge to uphold and enforce the policies recently put in place by the current
board to end the practice of isolation and restraint in schools.”
Ben Gitenstein
No questionnaire response
Seattle School District No. 1, Director District No. 6
Gina Topp
No questionnaire response
Maryanne Wood
No questionnaire response
Shoreline School District
No responses
Skykomish School District
No responses
Snoqualimie School District
No responses
Tahoma School District
Tahoma School District No. 409, Director District No. 2
Michael Wiggins
No questionnaire response
Tahoma School District No. 409, Director District No. 3
Malia Hollowell
No questionnaire response
Stephen “Dutch” Deutschman
No questionnaire response
Tahoma School District No. 409, Director District No. 4
Pete Miller
Miller questionnaire response
Miller supports ending isolation and certain types of
restraint.
"My daughter is on the autism spectrum, and in her first few years of school, she had some severe sensory sensitivity and behavioral outbursts. This led to faculty needing to redirect her, mostly using positive alternatives, but sometimes using restraint. I have first-hand experience with this issue. I am proud to say that our school district has taken steps to remove restraint from our system and I
will continue to advocate for that."
Vincent Powell
No questionnaire response
Tukwila School District
No responses
Vashon Island School District
No responses
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