Surrey ‘room clear’ tracker launched to document incidents putting strain on classrooms

Rough start to school year: Surrey schools so far this school year have seen a 20-per-cent increase in classrooms having to be cleared out due to safety concerns related to a student’s “escalated” behaviour, leaving teachers “distraught” in the wake of such incidents.

That’s the anecdotal estimate of Surrey Teachers’ Association president Amrit Sanghe, who on Monday joined with the local District Parents Advisory Council and CUPE 728 to announce a new system that will track the number of “room clears” in Surrey classrooms.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hook” from teachers about the room clears, Sanghe said at a press conference announcing the tracker.

“A room clear represents a system that has run out of options, not a child who has run out of chances. We need smaller classes, more supports, and the resources to create real inclusion in practice.”

What’s a room clear? A room clear occurs when a student’s stress responses (often as a result of unmet accommodations, needs or environmental triggers and, in some instance medical needs) result in other students being directed to leave the classroom or common learning area for safety or management reasons

A student removal happens when the student in crisis is escorted or asked to leave the classroom.

A reverse room clear occurs when students are kept inside their classroom or other enclosed learning area while a dysregulated or unsafe situation takes place outside — for example, in a hallway, common area, or outdoor space near the classroom — and students are instructed not to leave for safety reasons.

Lack of room clear data: The DPAC says it has launched the room clear tracker (you can see the site here), with the support of teachers and support staff, because the Ministry of Education does not track such incidents.

The tracker site allows educators, parents and support staff to confidentially self-report room clear incidents. The data aims to give a clearer picture of how often learning is disrupted, who is affected, and what systemic supports are missing.

Finding the truth: Anne Whitmore, Surrey DPAC president, said data is needed to detail the “truth” about a lack of educational assistants in classrooms to support students with special needs.

“What we measure matters,” Whitmore said because such incidents mean that “learning stops” in classrooms.

“Our children have a right to a safe environment,” Whitmore said.

Surrey has seen a loss of an estimate 50 educational assistants in the past year due to budget cuts as the local school district faced a major budget deficit, said Tammy Murphy, head of CUPE 728 that represents EAs.

“We are sounding the alarm,” Murphy said.

In January, BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke announced his office had begun an investigation into the exclusion of students from schools in the K-12 public education system.

The room tracker aims to find Surrey-specific data to help build on that investigation.

“Community Inclusion Month is meant to celebrate the full participation of people with disabilities,” Whitmore said. “Yet in our schools, exclusion is happening daily and is usually unseen and uncounted. When a classroom is cleared, every student experiences exclusion, including the ones whose stress response led to the incident. We need transparency to understand the scale of this problem and take action.”

The Surrey tracker will help the BC Ombudsperson with its provincial investigation.

“Our office has received complaints from across the province about children, including those with disabilities, being excluded from school with little or no instruction,” said Chalke. “We will examine the extent to which K-12 students are being excluded from schools across the province and whether those exclusions are fair. We will assess the role of the Ministry of Education and Child Care and school districts in these exclusions.”

Complaints received by the Ombudsperson’s office indicate that school districts are excluding students due to disruptive or unsafe behaviour, or inadequate resources devoted to adequately support the student’s learning in the school.

In some cases, schools are reported to have informally excluded students from school entirely or for much of the school day.

“I am concerned about the outcomes for children who are excluded from school with little or no instruction,” said Chalke. “Children have limited options to address unfairness in their education and school environments. By examining this issue we can make recommendations to support the ministry and school districts in meeting their inclusive education commitments and obligations to all students.”

Murphy said EAs are bearing the brunt of a lot of incidents and part of the blame is due to a system that moves them around too much – sometimes to multiple classrooms in a single day.

“Education assistants are the ones holding space during crisis, supporting both the student and the class,” said Murphy. “Our members want all students to feel safe and supported. The current lack of resources makes that impossible.”