Students who turn violent are core of Issaquah labor dispute

With shocking speed, a 13-year-old autistic boy in the Issaquah School District wrapped his teacher in a headlock, punched her in the head and stomach, and shoved her against cabinets.

Two special-education aides in the room were held at bay as the boy started to kick at them.

It wasn't the first time he had attacked classroom staff nor would it be the last.

The 2006 incident is at the center of a labor dispute between educational assistants, who want to retain contract language that lets them opt out of working with students whose behavior poses a safety threat, and the district, which argues that aides and teachers can't choose whom they'll work with.

"We have a legal and moral obligation to educate everyone," said Sara Niegowski, Issaquah School District spokeswoman. "We don't choose who comes in the door."

The district's 310 educational assistants have been working without a contract since August. Thursday night, they reached a tentative agreement with the district and will vote on a new contract Tuesday. Other unions in the district support the aides and say the district hasn't listened to staff concerns about a few highly aggressive students.

"We're seeing more students with serious behavioral issues. The numbers just keep going up," said Chris Svensson, an educational assistant in Issaquah and a steward for Local 925 of the Service Employees International Union.

The issue has state and national implications as the number of children diagnosed with autism rises and as those students get older, stronger, and, in some cases, more difficult to manage.

Autism is a developmental disability that affects individuals' ability to interact and communicate with others to varying degrees. Some with the disorder might appear only to be socially awkward, while others need constant assistance and supervision.

Once infrequently diagnosed, autism is now found in 1 out of 150 children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Washington, the number of students with autism jumped from 2,104 in 2001 to 6,000 in 2007, according to statistics from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Overall, that still represents less than 5 percent of the state's 124,000 students with disabilities.

While only a small percentage of autistic children exhibit violent or aggressive behavior, they and other children with behavior disorders present a serious challenge for the schools that must educate them.

The district and the Issaquah Educational Assistants created a job in 2004 called "unique-needs specialist," a person who would be assigned to hard-to-manage students on a one-on-one basis. The contract said the educational assistants would substitute for a specialist only "based on ability and willingness."

The current dispute began in the fall of 2006 when the district was unable to find a specialist to work one-on-one with the autistic boy, and a classroom aide agreed to fill in. But after the attack left the teacher with neck and back injuries, both aides who were in the room notified the district that they couldn't control the student and would no longer substitute for the specialist.

The district directed the aides to take additional training to work with the boy or face possible discipline or termination. The aides said no amount of training would make them physically able to deal with the boy's outbursts, and they filed a grievance with the district.

One of the two aides, Jill Nichols-Hicks, herself the mother of two autistic children, said her job in the special-needs classroom is difficult every day.

"There are hits, scratches, bites, kicks, toileting, lifting from wheelchairs, diapering, feeding," she said. "It's very tough work, but we gladly do it. We love our job. There's no greater reward than working with a population that needs us."

But when a small percentage of students are beyond their ability to care for, Nichols-Hicks said, "we need help."

Marilyn Holm, special-education director for Issaquah schools, said the district has limited placement options for high-needs students and has a legal obligation to provide an education. She said administrators think they've found compromise contract language that addresses the aides' safety concerns while ensuring all students are served. Neither party would reveal details ahead of the vote Tuesday.

Holm said many of the district's aides started their jobs when the special-education population was less complex and demanding.

"What we're saying is that as a member of a classroom team, you're providing service for all kids assigned to a classroom," Holm said.

This week, a state arbitrator sided with the aides and said their contract allows them to opt out of acting as a specialist, such as filling in for lunch breaks, vacations and absences.

The aides also may decline training if the purpose is to prepare them to substitute for the high-needs specialist, the arbitrator ruled.

In 2007, the state Department of Labor and Industries upheld two workplace-safety complaints involving the same student. The district was fined $4,500. It is appealing the judgment.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com