NSS Weekly: The Controversy Surrounding Seclusion Rooms

Transcript

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INTRO: You are listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota, produced by AMPERS, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota.

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HOST: This is North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live. I'm Gracie J.

This week, we examine a controversial classroom practice used to control students with disruptive behavior. And, as the fishing season starts, we'll tell you about some new consumption guidelines to keep you safe.

But first, after more than 80-years, the remains of a Minnesota World War II hero finally return home. A three-cannon salute from the New Ulm battery helped honor World War II medal of Honor recipient Willibald C. Bianchi. Governor Tim Walz declared May 2nd as Captain Willibald C. Bianchi Day in Minnesota, ordering flags to fly at half-staff in his honor. The U.S. Army captain received a military funeral with full honors over the weekend. He left some 85-years ago to serve in World War II. Even after being wounded multiple times, he kept leading the attack, earning the Medal of Honor. He survived the Bataan Death March and years as a prisoner of war but was killed in January 1945 aboard a Japanese transport ship hit by U.S aircraft that did not know allied POWs were on board. His remains were buried as unknown in Hawaii until modern DNA testing identified him last year. Jim Bartels with New Ulm's KNUJ radio says covering the story of Captain Bianchi's homecoming and military funeral was one of the most meaningful events of his long career.

JIM BARTELS: They blew out each cannon and that was the final significant celebration and salute to Captain Bill Bianchi today. I can't say that I saw a lot of tears because nobody knew, Willibald Bianchi. He passed away before perhaps many of these folks were born. But they didn't know him. So it was this sense of pride now that people and relatives were seeing what happened, hearing what happened, and so proud to be a part of his family. The cemetery event and how it was done and how it was performed was spectacular, and then the helicopters flying over, and they weren't really high. They were pretty low, and they flew over and, uh, 21 gun salute, the three cannons firing off. It was something that absolutely made the return of our World War 2 hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Willibald Bianchi, made this whole event absolutely memorable that you just will not forget.

It wasn't that I saw a lot of tears, but boy, did I see pride and smiles. And I think uh, respect for what he did. and that that's kind of the bottom line, I think.

HOST: Thank you to KNUJ radio and Jim Bartels for helping North Star Stories cover Captain Bianchi's homecoming and funeral.

Tribal governments will now be notified when sewage spills might impact their community. State law already requires wastewater systems to notify downstream water users when untreated or undertreated sewage is released. But tribal governments were not specifically included in that list and say they aren't always notified. State pollution official Alexis Donath says a new law will correct that.

ALEXIS DONATH, MPCA: It is intended to protect the health of people who swim, fish, or recreate in areas impacted by untreated or undertreated sewage, and especially those whose drinking water comes from a directly impacted water body.

HOST: The bill passed both chambers unanimously.

The Minnesota board of pardons unanimously pardoned a Laotian refugee, At "Ricky" Chandee, who has lived in the US for decades. Chandee has worked for nearly 30 years for the city of Minneapolis and has had no new convictions since a single case when he was 18. ICE detained him shortly after he applied for a pardon in January. He remains in federal custody. The pardon could remove the legal basis for his deportation.

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While schools across the state use isolated spaces to help de-escalate student behavior. Although legislation on the use of seclusion rooms has been debated before, lawmakers are revisiting the practice. Reporter Jose Ozoria explores why the debate continues.

JESSICA WEBSTER: There's really no getting around what this practice is. That it is a, it is a scary and terrifying experience for the kids who are put in these rooms. They are a traumatic practice.

JOSE OZORIA: Jessica Webster, staff attorney with Mid Minnesota Legal Aid, is describing the impact that seclusion rooms have on Minnesota children who have experienced the practice. Seclusion rooms are involuntary, isolated spaces. They're intended as a last resort. The goal of seclusion rooms is to de-escalate a student's behavior when there is an immediate risk of harm to the student and others. The use of these rooms have been criticized for how they're utilized and the potential harm they cause.

JESSICA WEBSTER: There's been a long-standing effort by a lot of advocates, parents, community, for 15 years, to say we need to stop using this practice against kids. It's a harmful practice. We don't use it juvenile detention centers anymore. We don't use it in residential treatment facilities. It's a practice that's on its way out. It's been banned in, you know, a dozen other states.

JOSE OZORIA: Those opposing seclusion rooms have been able to get the state to implement some restrictions.

JESSICA WEBSTER: We actually came together as an advocacy community in 2023 and were able to get started on a ban for kindergarten through third grade, with a direction to the Department of Education to end it urgently for all kids.

JOSE OZORI: A new law would allow seclusion rooms until 2036 to give school districts time to come up with alternate plans. The law would then seek to ban seclusion rooms, starting in 2036 opponents want seclusion rooms banned altogether, immediately.

JUDY SEEBERGER: This is the approach Minnesota has taken, rather than banning seclusion, recognizing the need that sometimes when an emergency happens, physical separation is needed to keep everyone safe. Since we've eliminated the use of seclusion up to third grade, we have seen an increase in physical holds, and we've seen an increase in injuries.

JOSE OZORIA: That's Senator Judy Seeberger speaking before the Education Finance Committee. Senator Seeberger recently led a group evaluating the effectiveness of seclusion rooms. She strongly believes seclusion rooms greatly benefited her now adult son.

JUDY SEEBERGER: My own son. Love him. He's great. He testified before the working group when he was in second grade, he broke his para's thumb. Our littlest learners are causing the biggest injuries. JOSE OZORIA: Senator Seeberger describes how this behavior can escalate to the point where school personnel has very little options or solutions.

JUDY SEEBERGER: If you have a little learner who is lashing out, so deregulated that people are getting hurt, physical holds are not keeping everyone safe, your last resort is to contact law enforcement. Is this what we want? Do we want to feed the school to prison pipeline? I don't want that. That happened to my kid too.

JOSE OZORIA: Maren Christenson Hofer, an activist with the Multicultural Autism Action Network who testified before the committee, disagrees with the Senator's description.

MAREN CHRISTENSON HOFER: We've heard people say that one of the reasons we need seclusion is because the only other option is to call law enforcement, and I really believe that that's a false binary. We do have other choices, and we have seen no evidence that shows that reducing seclusion results in increased calls to law enforcement.

JOSE OZORIA: But Senator Seeberger insists that those opposing seclusion rooms are not presenting enough evidence to back their claims.

JUDY SEEBERGER: Them wetting their pants, not leaving trauma, terrible stories. And I want to know if this is happening. I want to know where. I want to know which districts. I want to know when. I want to know why. Is it because they don't know the law? Is it because they're disregarding the law, or is it because they need additional resources? And Madam Chair Members of the Commission, we were not able to substantiate any one of those incidences.

JOSE OZORIA: Jessica Webster, staff attorney with Mid Minnesota Legal Aid, says their information shows there are schools that are misusing seclusion rooms.

JESSICA WEBSTER: I mean, the state statute says it is supposed to be used in an emergency, right? And what legal aid sometimes sees is kids in these rooms for hours and so, or kids fall asleep in these rooms. Kids urinate, defecate themselves, vomit, to try to get the attention of an adult, to get out and to us, if you are in this room for, you know, a prolonged period of time, then that's no longer an emergency, right?

JOSE OZORIA: A major concern for those who oppose the use of seclusion rooms is implementation.

JESSICA WEBSTER: This practice is rife with racial disparities. It's being predominantly and disproportionately used against black and brown boys, particularly with autism. The disparities are stark. We know that there is an over representation of children of color in some of these spaces. All the data bears out, and it's one of the reasons that the Department of Education has come out strongly and said that this practice should be ended.

JOSE OZORIA: Recent statistics show that in Minnesota, 12% of the student population identify as Black or African American, yet 20% of students placed in seclusion are students identifying as Black or African American. Of those students put in seclusion rooms, 100% of the students have some form of disability. Ms. Webster says seclusion rooms leave a lasting psychological and physiological impact.

JESSICA WEBSTER: The children that describe this practice, describe it only in terms of harm, and it looks exactly and is post-traumatic stress. You know, children and adults who no longer want to be in a smaller or confined space, like a changing room, or people that no longer want doors closed, even in larger rooms, children that can't sleep without the lights on anymore.

JOSE OZORIA: As of right now, it looks like the bill seeking to expand seclusion rooms is unlikely to pass the current legislative session. For North Star Stories, I'm Jose Ozoria.

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HOST: Students and teachers deal with many factors that affect behavior inside and outside the classroom. To learn more about the best practices that can improve outcomes for children with social, emotional and behavioral challenges, we're joined by Faith Miller, an associate professor of school psychology at the University of Minnesota. She specializes in evidence-based, school-based mental health, specifically in social, emotional and behavioral assessment and intervention. Thank you so much for joining us.

DR FAITH MILLER: Happy to be here today. Thank you.

HOST: When schools are evaluating interventions for students with anxiety or behavioral challenges, what should they look for to know whether a support strategy is actually working?

DR FAITH MILLER So the work that I do relates to identifying students in need of additional social, emotional, behavioral supports in schools, and this is such a big issue. Primarily, the default kind of mechanism for identifying student needs is teacher or parent referral. And we know that the behavior sort of has to reach a certain point in terms of intensity, in terms of duration, in terms of frequency, in order to spur that referral, you know. It's a, it's a more reactive approach to identifying support needs, as opposed to proactive. So whether that's looking at sort of existing data that might help decision making in terms of absenteeism, behavioral incidents, you know, academic performance, or doing more proactive approaches like systematic screening for social, emotional and behavioral needs.

HOST: And when they're looking for the interventions, the legislatures are looking for just two ways today, seclusion rooms or law enforcement. What else is there for interventions?

DR FAITH MILLER Yeah, and that's such a false dichotomy. We know that there are a whole spectrum of different options to support students' needs in a variety of different ways, and from my perspective, the most powerful approach to do that is through multi-tiered systems of support. So basically, schools implementing a tiered support system where they have universal practices that are aimed to support all students. They have more targeted strategies that are aimed to support students with more significant needs, and then intensive strategies to support kids with the most intensive needs. And this should all happen before efforts are made to consider more restrictive, you know, settings and placements and those sorts of things.

HOST: What does a culturally responsive approach look like in practice, and why can it improve class wide behavior for diverse students?

DR FAITH MILLER: That's such a huge issue. We know that racial and cultural mismatch between students and educators and also student support staff is a real issue. The majority of educators are predominantly white women, and we know that our student body is increasingly diversifying. And so there's a real cultural mismatch in terms of who's sort of setting the standards for behavior, expectations, what acceptable behavior, quote, unquote, looks like in the school setting and those sorts of things. So really, it's a, it's a systemic issue, I would say, with pretty systemic problems, and ultimately this issue of you know, sort of not being really intentional about including students and families and community members in sort of decision making and support efforts, I think, to me, is one of the biggest issues in situations where students are struggling.

HOST: What role should schools play and when does involving law enforcement become harmful rather than helpful?

DR FAITH MILLER In my opinion, I think schools are the most important prevention arm of student support needs. Students have access to schools. They have access to professionals in schools, school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, who can provide additional supports that might not otherwise be accessible outside of the school setting, where you might require like medical insurance, for example, to see, you know, an individual provider or that sort of things, really, we know that there's a fairly predictable pattern of behavioral escalation that goes on that precedes that right sort of peak crisis student might be harmed to themselves or others kind of situation. And so if we know that, and we can identify triggers, and we can identify indicators that would suggest a student is starting to get escalated, and we could effectively intervene to de-escalate the situation. That would, to me, be the best preventative measure for ensuring that these incidences are less likely to occur.

HOST: Well, thank you so much for your time.

DR FAITH MILLER Thank you so much for having me.

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HOST: After the break, what Minnesota anglers should know before putting their first catch in the pan.

This is North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, produced by AMPERS with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. We'll be right back.

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[NSS Promo: "North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, Diverse Radio for Minnesota's Communities. Check out our other programs at AMPERS dot ORG: Minnesota Native News brings you weekly coverage of the state's Native American communities. MN90 - Minnesota History in 90 Seconds - transports you to historical moments in our state through short, engaging stories. Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is a weekly podcast featuring conversations between Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe members and siblings, Leah Lemm and Cole Premo, and Native community members. Hear more at AMPERS dot ORG."]

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HOST: You are listening to North Star Stories. I'm Gracie J.

In other news from across the state, the Senate voted on a sweeping package of DFL-introduced gun legislation, passing it on party lines. The legislation cracks down on gun modifications, puts new money into school safety and bans future sales of assault-style weapons and magazines holding more than 17 rounds. Gun-safety advocates and victims of gun violence spoke in support of the bill. A University of Minnesota student who says they lived through a mass shooting says gun violence, and the threat of it, has become a constant fear in young people's lives.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Gun violence isn't something we hear about once in a while on the news. It's something we grow up with. It's lockdown drills. It's checking exits in classrooms. It's wondering if today is the day, something will happen.

HOST: Senate Republicans challenged the legality of the bills. Senator Michael Holmstrom took a defiant stance.

SEN. MICHAEL HOLMSTROM: Most of Minnesota will not comply with this unconstitutional law.

HOST: The legislation now heads to the evenly divided House.

It's game over for the sports partnership between two northern school districts. Cloquet's school board voted to end its long-standing partnership with Carlton schools that allowed students to play sports together as part of Cloquet teams. Carlton schools are considering merging with neighboring Wrenshall and Cloquet's board says it is at capacity. Cloquet schools face a $1 million deficit. Carlton and Wrenshall will hold public hearings about the possible merger.

The heart of Minneapolis's Native American community is set for a massive overhaul. The Little Earth housing complex, the nation's only Native-preference section 8 housing project, is starting a 50-million-dollar renovation. It's the first major update since the housing was built in the 1970s, after the Indian Relocation Act of 1956 encouraged Native populations to move to cities. The two-year project will update all 212 units with new roofs, insulation, appliances, and improve energy efficiency.

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HOST: This year's state fishing opener marks the 78th anniversary of the event, which will take place in Stillwater, on the banks of the St. Croix River. As anglers prepare for the season, they'll see changes to safety consumption guidelines. Reporter Britt Aamodt explains why.

BRITT AAMODT (reading for MAIJA HECHT): A beloved tradition is taking place again in Minnesota waters: The opening weekend of fishing season. And as anglers get ready to cast their lines for walleye, trout, bass, northern pike and other species, officials are updating guidance on fish consumption, warning anglers about pollutants such as mercury, a neurotoxin that can be particularly dangerous for children and some women.

SIERRA CRIST: Most anglers that I interact with are men, so it doesn't really surprise me that it's not something that's talked about.

BRITT AAMODT: Avid angler Sierra Crist says that while the advice to eat smaller fish has become common sense, she wishes information specific to women's health was more clear.

SIERRA CRIST: So the fish consumption guideline is broken into two groups of people, like the sensitive populations and then the general populations. But the general population is literally just boys and men aged 15 and older. But I wish there was more specific information, because there's so many different bodies of water, and I feel like that's important.

BRITT AAMODT: The Minnesota Department of Health, or MDH, states that children and women who are pregnant or plan to conceive, are at the highest risk for harm. MDH fish consumption guidance program lead Angela Preimesberger says—

ANGELA PREIMESBERGER: During pregnancy to the fetus, and in infancy and childhood, mercury can affect your nervous system and brain development and lead to effects to learning and memory.

BRITT AAMODT: But this doesn't mean Minnesotans should be afraid of eating fish. Instead, the Minnesota Department of Health encourages all anglers to stay informed.

ANGELA PREIMESBERGER: So the three factors that we recommend people consider is where you're fishing. In some water bodies a contaminant may be at higher levels and have water body specific fish consumption guidelines.

BRITT AAMODT: This is especially true for the northeast corner of the state, where mercury levels are higher on average.

ANGELA PREIMESBERGER: Also consider who you are and who you're sharing your fish with, as we talked about, some people are more sensitive to the adverse health effects from these contaminants. Set some fish aside if they're smaller, and label those separately for other people you might share them with, for kids or people in your family that may be planning or are pregnant.

BRITT AAMODT: Finally, Preimesberger said learning the specific guidelines for walleye compared to northern pike, perch and so on is critical.

ANGELA PREIMESBERGER: So within a water body, some species may have different guidelines. Whether we're recommending a serving a week or up to a serving a month, may depend on the species of the fish.

BRITT AAMODT: For example, general statewide guidelines recommend that sensitive populations, again, this is children or childbearing women, consume only one serving per month of bass, northern pike, lake trout, catfish and walleye, whereas men and women who do not plan to conceive are safe eating the same species weekly. Certain fish carry more risk because of the way mercury accumulates as it moves up the food chain. When predatory fish eat smaller fish, the metal remains in their tissue and compounds over time. Anglers such as Sierra Crist are adjusting for their safety.

SIERRA CRIST: I will definitely be eating much more pan fish versus walleye and pike.

BRITT AAMODT: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources provides guidelines specific to each body of water on their lake finder website to help Minnesotans understand what the risk is where they frequently fish.

SIERRA CRIST: Yeah, there's no better place to be than the water, and since I just recently procured a job in the Boundary Waters, I am most excited to fish out there, but it's definitely going to affect what I keep to consume, Just because I know that area is more sensitive to mercury, just learning the effects of it, and being that I am in the vulnerable population of people, I definitely want to be more safe about that.

BRITT AAMODT: For anglers, the takeaway is not to stop eating fish. Instead, the Minnesota Department of Health urges consumers to stay informed by checking lake-specific guidance and choosing smaller fish. With information and care, families may continue fishing traditions safely now and into the future. For North Star Stories, this is Britt Aamodt reading a story by Maija Hecht.

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HOST: Well, those who like to fish, not to mention all Minnesotans, should consider thinking about their health and the health of the land. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Program Get the Lead Out, educates people in the state about the dangers of lead fishing tackle. To learn more about the program, we are joined now by Kelly Amioth, the program administrator of the Get the Lead Out program with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Thank you so much for joining us today, Kelly.

KELLY AMOTH: Thanks, Gracie, for having me.

HOST: So first, tell us about the Get the Lead Out program.

KELLY AMOTH: Sure. We are an education outreach program statewide, reaching anglers and non-anglers alike to educate them about the danger of lead fishing tackle, not only for human health our waters, but especially for wildlife that so many Minnesotans care about, especially the common loon. That is our species of focus. But we also want to make sure people know about the danger of lead for bald eagles and trumpeter swans as well. So working with many different interest group around the state to get this message out and make small changes with power fishing to protect wildlife.

HOST: So what are the biggest harms of lead to people and wildlife, Kelly?

KELLY AMOTH: There's no safe level of lead for human health. Lead is especially dangerous for young children as they're growing and developing and pregnant women. And for wildlife, especially for loons, lead is fatal. Lead affects wounds very quickly. Even the smallest piece of lead that they ingest will affect them and ultimately cause them to die within about two or three weeks. Sick loons are seldom found, just because they're pretty secretive nesters and they can't stand up on land, so they can't, like be walking around on shorelines for people to find them. So sick loons are seldom found. If they are found, rehabilitators, they have no other option than to euthanize them because it, lead, acts so quickly within their bodies.

HOST: So then, what are some lead-free alternatives to fishing tackle?

KELLY AMOTH: So we talked to a lot of people, and it's not easy, if you're at a tackle store or even at a big box store, to find lead free tackle packaging is all very different. Unfortunately, consumer, I can't point consumers to look for the words lead free on a package, because it's not really consistent across packaging for lead free alternatives. So we really encourage people to know the alternative types that are really most common in stores now. And so that's looking for tungsten. And these words should be printed on the packaging. So saying tungsten jig. So looking for tungsten, looking for tin, especially if you're shopping for split shot sinkers, looking for tin, splint tin, bismuth and steel. Those are really the big four alternatives that we have found to be most common. Our program also maintains a list of lead free manufacturers nationwide on our website, and you can sort through there based on material type or what type of fishing you're doing.

HOST: Is there anything that I didn't ask about that you would love to share with our listeners?

KELLY AMOTH: If people are listening and they are wondering about if they have lead in their tackle box, or if they know if they do that, we always point people to safely dispose of that. So lead is a toxic material, cannot go in your recycling at home. Should not go in your garbage at home, either. It needs to go to your county's household hazardous waste facility, and they should take it no questions asked.

HOST: Well, thank you so much, Kelly, for speaking with us today and sharing all your insight with our listeners.

KELLY AMOTH: Thank you so much, Gracie.

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HOST: And we close today's program with a reminder to respect and protect wild animals, no matter how cute they look. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, is asking people to avoid disturbing or touching deer fawns, which are born around this time of year. Most fawns do not attempt to evade predators during their first few weeks of life. Instead, they remain still to avoid being seen. The agency says that deer fawns might appear to be abandoned or fragile, but you should not engage without talking to a wildlife rehabilitator, even in the case of a car strike. Moving a fawn can be detrimental to the animal and increase the risk of spreading diseases. For more information regarding fawns or other young wild animals that appear to be orphaned, visit the DNR's website.

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This is it for today's program. If you missed any part of today's newscast, you can find this and past episodes at AMPERS.org or listen to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. You can also get North Star Stories daily on our website or check your favorite station's schedule. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week with more stories and voices from the North Star State.

OUTRO: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at AMPERS.org.