Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Releases Seclusion and Restrain Report

Tuesday, July 11th, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced it has published information reported by Wisconsin schools on incidents when seclusion and physical restraint were used during the 2021-22 school year.

Pursuant to 2019 Wisconsin Act 118, Wisconsin schools are required to submit a report containing information on the use of seclusion and restraint in schools to the DPI annually by Dec. 1. The 2021-22 school year is the third year this information is required to be submitted to the DPI.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some Wisconsin schools shifting from in-person instruction to virtual instruction, the DPI urges caution and does not recommend comparing incident rates across schools or to the previous academic year.

Statewide, schools reported 5,908 instances of seclusion and 6,916 instances where physical restraint was used. Among those instances, 1,920 students were involved in seclusion incidents, and 2,856 were involved in physical restraint instances.

Data does not indicate whether incidents of seclusion and restraint occurred simultaneously. Students in elementary schools were involved in a higher percentage of instances of seclusion and/or physical restraint than other types of schools.

In addition, students with individualized education programs (IEPs) were involved in instances at a higher rate than other students, comprising 79 percent of all seclusion incidents and 76 percent of all physical restraint incidents reported for the 2021-22 school year.

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