The school district typically updates policies in accordance with changes in the legislation or to follow requirements from the DOE. With regard to interventions, the district is also required to provide the number of restraints used and compare them with the previous years. According to information provided to the board members, in 2013-2014 there were 4 incidents involving restraints. These were limited to a residential facility. In 2014-2015, there were 19 incidents, with 16 incidents occurring at schools, and only 3 at a residential facility.
Superintendent Lori Romano reminded the board that though 19 incidents may seem high, that is a very small percentage of the 22,000+ students in Hernando County. This is a 475% increase, which was determined to be a result of a larger population of students with more severe behaviors, and transfer students who did not have proper behavioral assessments or intervention plans in place.
Dofka stated that increase triggered a response from DOE, which offered suggestions to the district. The goal for 2015-2016 was to reduce the number of incidents to 10 or less. That data will be reviewed for the next year’s report, but Dofka recalled that there were 0 incidents until near the end of the year. Forcino said the goal is always safety and the district uses a nonviolent crisis intervention tool.
Verbal de-escalation strategies are being taught to teachers and staff as part of crisis prevention. Mental Health First Aid training is also a
valuable tool. Dofka stated they are trying to organize behavioral strategies training for teachers, guidance counselors, behavioral staff, and principals.