The mission of the Warren County School District is to educationally empower all students to think critically and solve problems through a rigorous curriculum that will provide them with the skills necessary to graduate and pursue a career of their interest.

Principles for Governance and Leadership

Pennsylvania school boards are committed to providing every student the opportunity to grow and achieve.  The actions taken by the Board ultimately have both short and long-term impact in the classroom.  Therefore, school directors collectively and individually will...

Lead Responsibly

• Prepare for, attend and actively participate in board meetings
• Work together in a spirit of harmony, respect, and cooperation
• Participate in professional development, training and board retreats
• Collaborate with the Superintendent as the Team of 10

1. YHS Marching Band

2. Alex Logren - Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt National Contest

3. Rouse Estate

Financial Reports

Executive Summary

1. IU5 - Mr. Paul Mangione

2. PSBA Liaison - Mrs. Marcy Morgan

3. Career Center Advisory - Mrs. Elizabeth Huffman, Mr. Michael Zamborik

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

The district applied for $29,992 in funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Education Competitive Equipment Grant to purchase equipment for a Multidisciplinary Simulation Lab at the Warren County Career Center.  The grant required 1 to 1 matching funds from any awardees.  The district has been informed that its application has been approved, and the administration is requesting the $29,994 to proceed with the grant purchases.

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Please see attachment.

The Gateway program, which serves grades 6-8 is $750 per site per year.  We will have four sites, each offering the Gateway program, it would be four $750 fees for a total of $3000.

Executive Summary

That the administration proposes that the Warren County School District again serve as a sponsor for the Summer Food Service program in summer 2018.  The district intends to run open sites at Beaty Warren Middle School, Rouse Children's Center, City of Warren Summer Playground sites (Lacy & Crescent Parks), and the Clarendon Playground Program.

The WCSD will continue to search for other partners who offer summer programming to eligible children.

In order to provide a safe and effective learning environment the District must maintain student behavior so that students do not hurt themselves, other students, employees or other when they are exhibiting acute or aggressive behavior.  This policy is intended as a general outline for the manner that such behaviors are to be handled.

It is the intent of the District that positive techniques for the development, change and maintenance of selected behaviors shall be attempted prior to the use of more intrusive or restraining measures. 

When specialized intervention is required, the following basic premises are to be pursued:

1.   Behavior concerns should be addressed through goals established in the student’s IEP;

2.   Positive, rather than negative, measures shall be used in designing interventions;

3.   The least restrictive alternative necessary to develop and maintain appropriate change in behavior shall be used;

4.   Appropriate replacement behavior should be identified;

5.   Instruction in task and/or work related behaviors which lead to increased academic growth shall be provided;

6.   Procedures should be used which can be faded, normalizing consequences to a level and type found in the community;

7.   Components of the District’s code of student conduct shall be used as appropriate.

8.   A team process shall be used when making decisions regarding any change in placement.

I.  Purpose

Students with disabilities shall be educated in the least restrictive environment and shall only be placed in settings other than the regular education class when the nature or severity of the student’s disability is such that education in the regular education class with the use of appropriate supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The IEP team for a student with disabilities shall develop a positive behavior support plan if the student requires specific intervention to address behavior interfering with learning.

II.  Authority

The Board directs that the district’s behavior support programs shall be based on positive techniques rather than negative behavior techniques to ensure that students shall be free from demeaning treatment and unreasonable use of restraints or other aversive techniques. Behavior support programs and plans shall be based on a functional assessment of behavior and shall include a variety of research-based techniques to develop and maintain skills which will enhance students’ opportunity for learning and self-fulfillment.

III. Definitions

The following terms shall have these meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Antecedent strategies - specific strategies employed prior to a behavioral event or when a student is displaying signs of an impending behavioral event. Antecedent strategies may include but are not limited to: prompting a student to engage in a replacement behavior; offering a choice of acceptable alternatives to the negative behavior; offering a break from an activity; or redirecting a student to a quiet area to calm down.

Aversive techniques - deliberate activities designed to establish a negative association with a specific behavior.

Behavior support - development, change, and maintenance of selected behaviors through the systematic application of behavior change techniques.

Behavior Support Plan or Behavior Intervention Plan - plan for students who require specific intervention to address behavior interfering with learning. When a student with a disability is involved, a positive behavior support plan shall be developed by the IEP team, be based on a functional behavioral assessment, and become part of the individual student’s IEP.  A plan for a student with a disability must include methods using positive reinforcements, other positive techniques and related services required to assist a student with a disability to benefit from special education.

Handle With Care Behavior Management™ (hereinafter referred to as Handle with Care) - A behavior management program emphasizing the use of relationship-based skills to de-escalate and support students who have a history of engaging in assaultive or aggressive behavior. Staff trained in Handle with Care are certified to utilize the primary restraint technique as a method of restraint, to be used only as a last resort when a student’s behavior is a danger to themselves or others.

Positive Techniques - methods utilizing positive reinforcement to shape a student's behavior, ranging from the use of positive verbal statements as a reward for good behaviors to specific tangible rewards.

Restraints - application of physical force, with or without the use of any device, designed to restrain free movement of a student’s body, excluding the following:

1. Briefly holding a student, without force, to calm or comfort him/her.

2. Guiding a student to an appropriate activity.

3. Holding a student’s hand to escort him/her safely from one area to another.

4. Hand-over-hand assistance with feeding or task completion.

5. Techniques prescribed by a qualified medical professional for reasons of safety or for therapeutic or medical treatment, as agreed to by the student’s parents/guardians and specified in the IEP.

6. Mechanical restraints governed by this policy, such as devices used for physical or occupational therapy, seatbelts in wheelchairs or on toilets used for balance and safety, safety harnesses in buses, and functional positioning devices.

Seclusion - confinement of a student in a room, with or without staff supervision, in order to provide a safe environment to allow the student to regain self-control.

Students with disabilities - school-aged children within the jurisdiction of the district who have been evaluated and found to have one or more disabilities as defined by law, and who require, because of such disabilities, special education and related services.

Trauma Informed Care - is the understanding by providers that many students with disabilities who engage in challenging behavior may suffer from the effects of trauma.  When necessary to address the specific needs of an individual student, school staff will be trained to understand the neurological, biological, psychological effects of traumatic events.

IV. Delegation of Responsibility

The Superintendent or his/her designee may develop administrative procedures to implement this policy.

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall provide training, and retraining as needed, of staff in the use of specific procedures, methods, and techniques, including but not limited to de-escalation techniques, the uses of antecedent strategies, formal physical management programs (such as Handle with Care), restraints and seclusions, which will be used to implement positive behavior supports or interventions in accordance with students’ IEPs, and Board policy.

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall maintain and report data on the use of restraints, as required by law. Such report shall be readily available for review during the state’s cyclical compliance monitoring. Procedures shall be established by the Superintendent or his/her designee requiring reports to be made to the district by entities educating students with disabilities who attend programs or classes outside the district, including private schools, agencies, intermediate units and vocational schools.

V. Guidelines

When a student with a disability engages in behaviors which are disruptive to the learning environment or that are dangerous to themselves or others, a positive behavior support plan will be put in place based on a functional assessment of their behavior. The positive behavior support plan will be part of the student's individualized education plan.

When an intervention is necessary to address problem behavior, the types of intervention chosen for a student shall be the least intrusive necessary. Specifically, appropriately trained and/or certified School staff will utilize the following interventions in order:

1. A trauma informed care approach with all students.

2. De-escalation techniques.

3. Antecedent strategies, if such interventions have been identified in the student’s positive behavior support plan.

4. A formal physical management program (such as Handle with Care) or an approved restraint.

VI. Restraints

Restraints to control acute or episodic aggressive behavior may be used only when the student is acting in such a manner presenting a clear and imminent as to be a danger to himself/herself the student, to other students, or to employees or others, and only when less restrictive measures and techniques (trauma informed care, de-escalation techniques, antecedent strategies) have been proven to be ineffective or are less effective.  The following will serve as general guidelines for the implementation of this policy:

The Director of Special Education or his/her designee shall notify the parent/guardian as soon as practicable of the use of restraints to control the aggressive behavior of the student and shall convene a meeting of the IEP team within ten (10) school days of the use of restraints, unless the parent/guardian, after written notice, agrees in writing to waive the meeting. At this meeting, the IEP team shall consider whether the student needs a functional behavioral assessment, re-evaluation, a new or revised positive behavior support plan, or a change of placement to address the inappropriate behavior.

The use of restraints shall not be included in the IEP for the convenience of staff, as a substitute for an educational program and/or a positive behavior support plan, or employed as punishment. It is understood The use of a restraint is solely intended to maintain safety when de-escalation strategies and positive behavioral support methods have not been effective. Restraints may be included in an IEP only if:

1. The student has required a restraint as an emergency intervention within the most recent calendar year or there is reason to believe, based on history, a student may need this level of support. There must be an existing positive behavior support plan in place.

2. The restraint is used only as necessary to maintain a student's own safety or the safety of others. Any student whose behavior necessitates crisis intervention must have a positive behavior support plan as well as identified goals for the development of appropriate social or communication replacement skills.

3. All special education educational assistants will receive annual training in de-escalation techniques, antecedent strategies, and trauma informed care. All special education assistants and teachers in programs identified for students with autism or emotional disturbance will receive annual training in Handle with Care or another formal physical management program approved by the Superintendent.  Designated staff (in the case of students who have not been able to de-escalate with the least restrictive methods identified) will receive annual training in Handle with Care or another formal physical management program.  Unless exigent circumstances necessitate a restraint at a time when no appropriately trained staff member is present, staff members are authorized to use restraints only when they have received appropriate training.

4. The student’s behavior support plan includes efforts to eliminate the use of restraints.

A.        Positive Techniques

• Whenever the situation will reasonably warrant, positive techniques will be used to manage acute or aggressive student behavior.  Positive techniques are methods which utilize positive reinforcement to shape a student’s behavior.  It is impossible to provide an exhaustive list of positive techniques; however, such techniques range from the use of positive verbal statements as a reward for good behavior to specific tangible rewards;

• The Board recognizes that in some instances the threat of danger inherent in a student’s acute or aggressive behavior may be so great that the most positive technique may be immediate physical intervention in order to halt the acute or aggressive behavior.  In such situations the Board authorizes the use of reasonable force to halt or restrain the acute or aggressive behavior.  It is again impossible to provide an exhaustive list of instances in which physical intervention is warranted; however, such instances include the need to quell a disturbance, to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects, the need for self defense, and the need for the protection of persons or property.

B.        Restraints

• For students whose education is provided under an IEP, the use of restraints to control the aggressive behavior of an individual shall cause a meeting of the IEP team to review the current IEP for appropriateness and effectiveness.  Wherever possible, this meeting shall occur within twenty-four (24) hours of the use of the restraint.  The building administrator is to meet with parents and/or guardians of a student who does not have an IEP when a restraint was used to control the student’s aggressive behavior.

• The use of restraints may not be included in an IEP, employed as punishment, for the convenience of staff, or as a substitute for an educational program.

VIII.  Mechanical Restraints

Mechanical restraints, which are used to control involuntary movement or lack of muscular control of students when due to organic causes or conditions, may be employed only when specified by an IEP or service agreement and as determined by a medical professional qualified to make the determination and as agreed to by the student’s parents and/or guardians. 

Mechanical restraints shall prevent a student from injuring himself or others or shall promote normal body posturing and physical functioning.

VIII.  Seclusion

The district permits involuntary seclusion of a student in accordance with the student’s IEP or in an emergency to prevent immediate or imminent injury to the student or others, but the seclusion must be the least restrictive alternative.

IX. Aversive Techniques

The following aversive techniques of handling behavior are considered inappropriate and shall not be used in educational programs:

1.   Corporal punishment

2.   Punishment for a manifestation of a student's disability.

3.   Locked rooms, locked boxes, or other locked structures or spaces from which the student may not readily exit.

4.   Noxious substances.

5.   Deprivation of basic human rights, including the such as withholding of meals, water, or fresh air

6.   Suspensions constituting a pattern as defined in state regulations.

7.   Treatment of a demeaning nature

8.   Electric shock

9.   Methods Implemented by untrained personnel

10. Prone restraints, which are restraints by which a student is held face down on the floor.

C.  Inappropriate Techniques

The following aversive techniques of handling behavior are considered inappropriate and may not be used in educational programs:

• Punishment for a manifestation of the student’s disability

• Serial suspensions

• Methods which have not been outlined in the agency’s plan

D.        Training

The District will train personnel responsible for the delivery of specialized procedures, methods, and techniques under an IEP or service agreement.

The Superintendent or his/her designee is authorized to develop procedures for the implementation of this policy.

E.         Behavior Support Plan:

A behavior support plan is a special education service for eligible students whose behavioral problems interfere with their own learning or the learning of others.  Positive approaches that are less intrusive will be attempted in order to maintain and support the dignity of the individual, and shall be attempted prior to the use of any negative approaches. An eligible student with disabilities whose behaviors interfere with learning will have a program of behavior support.  A behavior support plan shall be included in the IEP of any student, when appropriate, and shall include the following:

• Primary focus on positive rather than negative measures;

• Interventions that are the least intrusive necessary;

• Use of systematic application of behavior change techniques, and not substitute adversive techniques, restraints or discipline

The behavior support plan shall utilize two levels of intervention from which to choose, depending upon staff training and type of behaviors which require attention.  The two levels of intervention are:

• Good classroom management strategies.  No individual behavior support plan will be required as part of the IEP for Level 1 intervention.

• Specific interventions designated for individual students.  An individual behavior support plan shall be required as part of the IEP, with parental consent.

Students with disabilities are subject to District and building discipline policies to the extent that these policies comply with special education regulations on suspension and expulsion.

X. Referral to Law Enforcement

The Superintendent or his/her designee shall report required incidents and may report discretionary incidents committed on school property, at any school-sponsored activity or on a conveyance providing transportation to or from a school or school-sponsored activity by a student with a disability, including a student for whom an evaluation is pending, to the local police department having jurisdiction over the school’s property, in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, and the procedures set forth in the memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement and Board policies. The Superintendent or designee shall respond to such incidents in accordance with the district’s Special Education Plan and, if applicable, the procedures, methods, and techniques defined in the student’s behavior support plan.

Subsequent to notification to law enforcement, an updated functional behavioral assessment and behavior support plan shall be required for students with disabilities who have behavior support plans at the time of such referral.

If, as a result of such referral, the student is detained or otherwise placed in a residential setting located outside the district, the Director of Special Education or his/her designee shall ensure that the responsible school district or intermediate unit is informed of the need to update the student’s functional behavioral assessment and behavior support plan.

For a student with a disability who does not have a behavior support plan, subsequent to notification to law enforcement, the district shall convene the student’s IEP team to consider whether a behavior support plan should be developed to address the student’s behavior, in accordance with law, regulations and Board policy.

XI. Relations with Law Enforcement

The district shall provide a copy of its administrative procedures for behavior support, developed in accordance with the Special Education Plan, to each local police department that has jurisdiction over school property. Updated copies shall be provided each time the administrative procedures for behavior support are revised by the district.

The district shall invite representatives of each local police department having jurisdiction over school property to participate in district training on the use of positive behavior supports, de-escalation techniques, and appropriate responses to student behavior which may require intervention, as included in the district’s Special Education Plan and positive behavior support program.

Adoption Date         -     April 10, 2000

Revision Date          -     April 13, 2009, April 9, 2018

Review Date            -

Legal Reference       -      22 PA Code 14.133

                                    22 PA Code 14.145

                                    20 U.S.C. 1414

                                    34 CFR 300.114

                                    34 CFR 300.324

                                    20 U.S.C. 1415

                                    34 CFR 300.34

                                    34 CFR 300.530

                                    22 PA Code 14.143

                                    24 P.S. 1302.1-A

                                    22 PA Code 10.2

                                    22 PA Code 10.21

                                    22 PA Code 10.22

                                    22 PA Code 10.23

                                    22 PA Code 10.25

                                    22 PA Code 14.104

                                    34 CFR 300.535

                                    U.S.C. 1400 et. seq.

                                    24 P.S. 1303-A

                                    34 CFR Part 300

Cross Reference       -     Policy 9301, Policy 11120

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Executive Summary