What We Learned from the Work Shouldn’t Hurt Survey
May 25, 2022 – During one 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 percent of OSEA’s represented workers — provided input. Below is a summary of their responses.
Reporting and training policies are in place…
- 65 percent of respondents say their employer has a process for reporting dangerous student behavior.
- Of those, 72 percent say they have been trained in how to report an incident, and 77 percent can complete the report on paid time.
- 65 percent say their employer provides training for working with special needs students.
…but more is needed to be done.
- While 76 percent 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 percent report having been physically injured by a student.
- 40 percent have been injured while assisting a student with high needs.
- 1 in 3 are currently afraid of a student they work with.
- Only 10 percent say they never experience violent or aggressive behavior from students.
Violent student behavior takes a toll on staff.
- 20 percent of workers report experiencing panic attacks or extreme anxiety at least once a week, with five percent 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
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