A 54-page, heavily redacted report has been released by interim Marblehead Superintendent Theresa McGuinness, detailing how educators violated student restraint protocols during the Nov. 20 incident at Glover School, which resulted in four educators being placed on leave.
According to the report, which was done by Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting, the incident began when “Student A” was permitted to check in with the nurse’s office by “Employee 1.” After some time, Employee 1 told the student that they would be going back out to finish recess. The student then went toward the back of the nurse’s office.
Employee 1 followed the student and “blocked his access to the medications,” according to the report. The student then made a statement that Employee 1 did not understand, and the employee then verbally prompted the student again to go outside for recess.
Employee 1 once more prompted the student to go upstairs to finish recess, however the report indicates that the student began moving in another direction. Another employee, “Employee 5”, came out to the foyer to assist Employee 1, and called for QBS (Quality Behavioral Solutions) support.
The CIC report referenced the physical restraint report produced by Marblehead Public Schools, which stated that after “Employee 6” tried to redirect the student verbally, Employee 5 “retrieved a large mat for staff to use as a block.”
Afterward, a two-person backward transport was used to move the student to a “break space,” with the door closing at 1:26 p.m.
“Staff noticed that Student A was coughing, opened the door, and offered him water,” the CIC report reads. “He continued to cough after drinking some water and threw up.”
The report went on to state that two employees went to the nurse’s office to bring an item to the student in the break space, which he was able to use “independently.”
The CIC report concluded that “the technique used by staff is not included in the methods they learned during safety-care training.”
According to the report, “Employee 2” told CIC “that she has never, and would never, permit or suggest that employees encircle a student as a form of restraint.”
In an interview with CIC, Employee 6 said that she was not trained in mechanical restraint involving surrounding students with barriers.
“The Code of Massachusetts Regulations only permits staff to use methods of restraint for which they are qualified and trained to administer,” the report reads. “The training requirements do not prohibit staff from using reasonable force to preclude staff from protecting students and employees from assault or imminent, serious, physical harm.”
The CIC report also referenced security footage at the top of the stairs, citing that the QBS team had a “legitimate concern that Student A may (redacted).”
The report stated that staff had “every right” to incorporate restraints to prevent potential harm, however, there was a violation of procedure with the method of restraint that was chosen.
“The QBS team had a variety of restraint methods at their disposal to offset the risk of potential harm to Student A and the staff. Effective methods that they had learned through safety-care and that have been approved by Marblehead Public Schools,” the report reads. “The improvisation of encircling Student A with a mat was an undue hardship on Student A and was unnecessary for creating a safe environment.”
The CIC continued to state that the restraint was not effective, and was an “unnecessary, untrained, and risky method of mechanical restraint.”
While noting that the staff were put in a difficult position, the report also found that the student was transported improperly, as the student fell on the ground twice when being carried.
“On both occasions, they should have stopped the transport and attempted to de-escalate Student A,” the report reads. “Instead, they dragged him along the ground.”
At the end of the report, the CIC provided a number of recommendations to prevent incidents like this in the future, including familiarizing staff with all Massachusetts laws and regulations as well as existing Marblehead Public Schools policies. In addition, the CIC also recommended a staff debriefing as soon as possible to “discuss what happened and make any needed revision to the plan.”
McGuinness also announced in a newsletter on March 22 that the district has completed its “Restraint Response Plans… Our Way Forward,” which will include most of the CIC’s recommendations.
The fate of the four educators who were placed on leave following the incident remains unclear. In a statement earlier this month, McGuinness said “the interim superintendent will be taking appropriate action consistent with law.”
The Marblehead Education Association, the district’s teachers union, has repeatedly demanded that three of the educators on leave, who are union members, be reinstated.
