Over the last year and into this year, behavior reporting and data have been a big part of the discussions as it relates to nonpublic schools and agencies. The data collection requirements, for public and nonpublic schools, is a part of AB 2657 (Weber) and signed into law on January 1st, 2019. As we are sure you are aware, Behavior Emergency Reports and CALPADs reporting to districts became a central focus in May. CAPSES wanted to discuss these items, and offer some strong practices we saw some of the member organizations engaging in.
Ed Code 56521.1 (e): To prevent emergency interventions from being used in lieu of planned, systematic behavioral interventions, the parent, guardian, and residential care provider, if appropriate, shall be notified within one school day if an emergency intervention is used or serious property damage occurs. A behavioral emergency report shall immediately be completed and maintained in the file of the individual with exceptional needs…
Behavior emergency reports, according to Ed Code, should be written for situations where an emergency intervention (restraint, hands-on, escort, or seclusion utilized) or significant property destruction is involved. You may notice that “emergency interventions” are about staff action and not student action. It is an important distinction to be made. CAPSES saw many member organizations defining internal reporting procedures, including alignment to Ed Code on BERs, as well as an Incident Report system for capturing significant student behavior that does not result in emergency procedures, as appropriate for each student and school.
Significant property destruction is not defined within the Ed Code. Some member organizations have developed a policy as it relates to behavior reporting, including guidelines for BERs, Incident Reporting, and potential behavior logs. Within that policy, individual schools have determined what they define as significant property destruction, which clearly outlines for staff writing reports. Additionally, in talking with the California Department of Education, they found it helpful that schools and agencies define significant property destruction, and asked that it be “within what is reasonable for any school site,” so reporting is as consistent as possible across public and non-public settings, and similar expectations established for students. There is no clear guidance on what that reasonable value is as it relates to property destruction, but schools should consider developing a policy defining their value.
Many of our member schools and agencies have excellent reporting techniques and varying levels of capturing student behavior. It is always good practice to review those processes and to ensure effective communication between the districts in which we partner, and to the families/students, with which we work.
