'Commitment remains': Why Edmonton Public Schools is phasing out seclusion rooms

Yahoo

2 days ago

Edmonton Public Schools is continuing to phase out the use of seclusion rooms, spaces once used to isolate students during crisis situations, in favour of more supportive, inclusive approaches.
A report presented to the Edmonton Public Schools' Board (EPSB) this week shows the division is steadily reducing both the number of seclusion rooms in schools and how often they're used.
EPSB superintendent Darrel Robertson said the ultimate goal is to eliminate the need for seclusion rooms altogether.
'Believe me when I say, folks, I don't want seclusion rooms in our division at all,' Robertson told trustees at last week's board meeting.
The report describes a seclusion room as a small, enclosed space intended for use in emergency situations when a student's behaviour poses a serious and imminent risk to themselves or others. The use of these rooms have long drawn criticism from parents and advocacy groups.
But according to EPSB's report, their use is strictly regulated under both provincial standards and the division's internal policy.
Staff must be specially trained, and seclusion is only used when all de-escalation and preventative strategies have failed. These rooms' use must be included in a student's individual behaviour support plan, developed in collaboration with parents, who maintain the right to deny seclusion as an option, Robertson said.
'We respect that,' he said. 'We just need to work in collaboration on alternative, emergent plans. Exclusion rooms are only to be used in the event of an emergent situation where there is imminent danger to, you know, self harm or the harm of others, and it's only for the time of dysregulation.'
As of May 1, 2025, there are 105 seclusion rooms across the division, down from 167 one year prior, a reduction of 62 rooms. These reductions were achieved in part through official 'de-commissioning' processes where schools remove the door and shift the space to a different use.
To encourage the transition, the division supplied schools with sensory materials to transform the rooms into sensory/self-regulation spaces, which are calming environments equipped with tools to help students manage their emotions and sensory needs.
For existing seclusion rooms, decommissioning begins with physically altering the space.
'First of all, the door comes off, there's no longer a doo with any kind of blocking mechanism,' Robertson said.
Between June and August 2024, 24 rooms were decommissioned and repurposed. Another 38 followed between September 2024 and May 2025.
Not all uses of these spaces qualify as seclusion. More than half of the 1,240 uses recorded between September 2024 and April 2025 were self-selected by students, meaning the student chose to enter the space to calm down or work quietly, and the door remained open. These are not counted as seclusion.
But 445 uses, or 35.89 per cent, were non-self-selected, where a student was placed in the room during a crisis or emergency.
The division's approach to behavioural support has shifted toward proactive strategies, including staff training, relationship-building, and de-escalation techniques, so that crisis situations are avoided before they arise.
'Moving forward with our interactions programs, we're no longer constructing seclusion rooms,' said Robertson. 'We're constructing sensory spaces… with appropriate lighting, with appropriate, different materials for children so that it becomes a sensory room experience. They are not, I repeat, not to be used as a seclusion room.'
The new spaces are meant to be part of the regular classroom environment, accessible, inclusive, and tailored to meet the unique needs of each student, said the report.
Some parents and advocates worry that moving seclusion room updates into the division's Annual Education Results Review (AERR), rather than continuing to present it as a standalone board report, could limit opportunities for public discussion at board meetings. But EPSB board chairwoman Julie Kusiek defended the move, saying it actually elevates the importance of the issue.
'The AERR is the division's key accountability document for the work that we undertake in our governance role as trustees, and our progress towards our division's strategic plan,' she said. 'So by reporting on progress towards our strategic plan and an expectation that the use of seclusion rooms is included in that report, we're really strengthening the accountability. And we have our target for this, which is we're moving towards zero seclusion rooms.'
She added that concerns about transparency are welcome and encouraged, and families should continue to reach out to their trustees. Public conversations about seclusion room use will still be possible, she said, particularly in any reports dealing with student safety or sense of belonging.
'There's certainly going to continue to be opportunities to have public discussion on the use of seclusion rooms,' Kusiek said. 'And we, for certain, will be expecting that through the AERR every single year.'
The focus remains on adopting and expanding practices that have proven successful across the division, Kusiek said. While some families are relieved to see progress, she told reporters, others are frustrated that the practice hasn't yet been eliminated entirely.
'There is celebration here in terms of the movement towards the reduction in the number of seclusion rooms and the use of seclusion rooms,' Kusiek said. 'And as we heard from the superintendent, our goal remains to continue to improve our practices so that the use of these rooms is no longer required.'
Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, reporting on seclusion room usage will be included in the division's AERR. The division also plans to:
Continue providing professional learning for staff;
Monitor and decommission unused seclusion rooms;
Support the shift to sensory/self-regulation spaces based on student needs.
While the use of seclusion has not yet been eliminated, Robertson says the division is committed to doing better.
'We've enhanced our professional learning, but we clearly have more work to do,' he said. 'Our commitment remains. We are going to continue to work towards the elimination of seclusion rooms… which I hope one day is zero.'
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