During 1 of the worst school staffing shortages in Oregon history, a critical area is among educators who support the students with the highest needs. To better understand the risks of bodily harm and/or mental trauma these workers face and how to improve their workplace safety, OSEA conducted a survey of school employees working with special education and high needs students in the spring of 2022. More than 2,500 workers — representing more than 10% of OSEA’s represented workers — provided input. Below is a summary of their responses.
- Reporting and training policies are in place…
- 65% of respondents say their employer has a process for reporting dangerous student behavior.
- Of those, 72% say they have been trained in how to report an incident, and 77% can complete the report on paid time.
- 65% say their employer provides training for working with special needs students.
- …but more is needed to be done.
- While 76% of respondents had reported a student’s dangerous behavior in the past, more than half were somewhat or extremely dissatisfied with their employer’s response.
- Only 1 in 4 say their training prepared them moderately or very well for their work.
- 1 in 5 say they are regularly asked to work with student populations they have not been trained for.
- Staff continue to work in dangerous conditions.
- 76% report having been physically injured by a student.
- 40% have been injured while assisting a student with high needs.
- 1 in 3 are currently afraid of a student they work with.
- Only 10% say they never experience violent or aggressive behavior from students.
- Violent student behavior takes a toll on staff.
- 20% of workers report experiencing panic attacks or extreme anxiety at least once a week, with 5% having symptoms every day.
- Nearly half say trauma and mental stress caused by student behavior gets in the way of doing their job.
- 2 in 3 workers may consider leaving their jobs due to stress.
- When asked what advocacy priorities would have the most beneficial impact, workers favored:
- Higher pay for staff working with challenging students
- More training for staff working with special education and high needs student populations
- Increasing staffing ratios
- Finding more substitutes to cover when staff take leave