Safe places possible for all students

In my previous article, written after the tragic shooting in Iowa, I described the crisis in public schools related to students with a high potential for violence. Such students represent a tiny fraction of children, but they have a disproportionate, disruptive impact on schools. We know how to identify these children, and they can almost always be helped with intensive interventions, but we currently have few options for them. So, we send them back to home and school.

According to a May 30, 2020, article in the Muskogee Phoenix, Oklahoma detained 3,998 juveniles in secure facilities in 2017. By May of 2020, that number fell to 125, due to the pandemic and other factors, like HB 1282 that reduced the total number of beds for juvenile offenders. I am thankful that we are hesitant to incarcerate kids, but I also wonder if we ever replaced such reductions with other services.

Struggling students need safe places to get the help they need, and our schools need to once again be safe places. Since the pandemic, more children than ever exhibit troubling behavior, but we also have record numbers of emergency certified educators, so we have less experience to help them. Consequently, schools across Oklahoma are overwhelmed trying to educate our communities’ children while serving as substitute juvenile justice centers or mental health providers.

We do not wish to punish children, but we must address violence or threatening behavior. Most students simply need mental health support, but unfortunately, some need long-term care to protect them and others. We have state-level places for the most dangerous, but we have few, if any, options for students who just need temporary out-of-school placement, so they can get the help they need – before they hurt themselves or others.

No one wants more state-level beds, and no one wants to recreate the cruel “reform schools” of yesteryear. Removing children from their homes and communities should always be the last resort. Oklahoma schools, however, need local temporary educational settings for students who need intensive mental or behavioral interventions. They need safe places to get the help they need, so our schools can be safer and less disrupted.

Children rarely need residential detention; they simply need targeted and temporary help. They need safe, secure, local places, staffed with professionals trained to help them. Our kids are resilient and can quickly outgrow troubling behavior with the right interventions and help. We know the danger signs, however, and we endanger everyone if we cannot help them early enough.

No one caused this crisis alone, so no one can fix it alone. It is a statewide problem, but we need local solutions to keep these kids connected to their families while they get help. The state of Oklahoma could cover a portion of the costs through matching funds. Local schools, law enforcement, health care, and other youth services would share the remainder through interlocal agreements. Everyone serves children within their areas of expertise in one place. Kids are helped. Schools are protected.

Woodward and other Oklahoma towns have created such programs, so we have several models. The students get the help they deserve in a temporary setting. And without the constant disruptions, schools can once again focus on education instead of juvenile justice or psychiatric services. We know how to do this for Oklahoma children at a county or multi-county level, but no one can do it alone.

With state level help and local partnerships, we can create temporary, wrap-around services for troubled children in their own communities. We also protect the remaining students and staff from violence or constant disruption. Our struggling children need safe places to heal, and just as importantly, our local schools must once again be safe places for all staff and students.

Tom Deighan is an educator and author of Restoring Sanity in Public Schools: Common Ground for Local Parents and Educators. Email: [email protected]