Salem-Keizer Public Schools: Take a look inside the district
Here are some basic facts to know about Salem-Keizer Public Schools.
A year after West Salem High School teaching assistant Lauren Eriksen started working with special education students in September 2023, she sued the Salem-Keizer School District, claiming she was placed in an unsafe situation where students assaulted her.
Eriksen’s lawsuit claims she was assaulted by students multiple times, including being bitten so hard her flesh was torn and caused nerve damage and getting a concussion from being hit in the face.
The lawsuit contends the district failed to maintain a safe workspace and violated her due process rights in the 14th Amendment and the Occupational Safety and Health section of the Oregon Safe Employment Act by discriminating against and retaliating against her.
Lawyers representing the district have asked that the case be dismissed.
Eriksen also alleges an assistant principal canceled a 911 request she made when one student became violent and destructive, and no one took action to determine whether the emergency call was merited. Her lawsuit says an administrator drove her to an “urgent care” medical facility where she was diagnosed with multiple injuries, including a concussion, neck and back muscle spasms, and a lumbar muscle strain.
After that incident, the district reassigned Eriksen for 12 days to Keizer Elementary School, which her lawyers say was retaliatory because she worked fewer hours, so her pay was reduced.
“Eriksen has lingering emotional distress from her treatment at West,” said Maria Witt, Eriksen’s lawyer.
Eriksen said she was hired to work in the emotional growth classroom, a space for students to develop social-emotional skills. She was moved to the Developmental Learning Center to provide additional support because of “the known dangers in the DLC and the lack of adequate staffing,” the lawsuit alleges.
Her lawsuit, which has been moved from Marion County Circuit Court to federal court at the district’s request, notes that Salem-Keizer Public Schools “has experienced a significant increase in student-on-staff violence” and has “a severe shortage of Instructional Assistants who provide crucial assistance to students with special needs.”
Salem-Keizer School District spokesperson Aaron Harada said the district is “always concerned” about the safety of students and staff.
“We want the best for our students and the adults who serve them and that is why we are constantly evolving our safety systems and training programs for staff,” Harada said.
Eriksen resigned due to what her lawyers described as an intolerable work environment.
She is seeking damages, an order requiring the district to comply with Oregon OSHA recommendations, and a ruling prohibiting the district from creating or exposing Developmental Learning Center staff to “a foreseeably dangerous work environment.”
The district employs nearly 4,000 people and educates about 37,000 students in 65 schools. It is one of the largest employers in the Salem and Keizer communities and the second-largest school district in the state.
Student violence and altercations in Salem-Keizer Public Schools
Two years ago, the Statesman reported a spike in behavioral incidents throughout Salem-Keizer schools and in employee injuries caused by students.
According to district-wide discipline data:
- There were 297 incidents reported during the 2020-21 school year when schools were shut down for part of the year due to the pandemic
- There were 40,596 incidents reported in the 2021-22 school year.
- There were 44,230 incidents reported in the 2022-23 school year.
- There were 59,411 incidents reported in the 2023-24 school year.
For each year, some students were disciplined more than once.
Oregon’s statewide report card reported the percentage of students with one or more suspensions or expulsions reached 7.3% in the 2023-2024 school year, an increase from 6.8% the year before and 5.7% in 2021-2022.
Special education students were disciplined more often than other groups.
Twenty-seven of 861 teachers who completed an exit survey from 2020-2024 cited student behavior, safety, support or respect as the primary reason for leaving.
In the section where teachers could provide feedback on how the district could improve, 31 mentioned special education, and eight mentioned student behavior.
“There is a total disconnect between departments and a lack of systems of support,” one teacher wrote. “Where this is most apparent is the lack of systems for serving our students with significant behaviors, and requesting support for behaviors, particularly when those students are in special education classrooms.”
Oregon OSHA recommendations
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health conducted a voluntary consultation with the district in the fall of 2023, finding five “serious” safety violations and a dozen more that it considered less serious.
Consultants interviewed about 100 employees at six different schools in the district, and found injury rates at those schools were consistently well above national averages.
The district responded by implementing a recommitment to safety committees and additional training on processes, protocols and responses to staff injury reports, Harada said.
Their staff training and support initiatives timeline, according to Harada, is as follows:
- Fall 2023: The district implemented a no-cost counseling program for staff experiencing extreme injuries.
- Winter 2023: Redesigned a safety committee model with clear expectations, training and ongoing support.
- Spring 2023: The district offered additional no-cost mental health care coordination services.
- Fall 2024: Behavioral health consultation, which included a multi-disciplinary team for intensive, individualized student support and clear intervention processes with progress monitoring.
- Winter 2024: Crisis response intervention and coaching, which included an optional system for post-crisis staff support and wellness coaching. A second Behavioral Intervention Center opened.
- Spring 2024: Acute heal and safety consultation, which included a specialized team focused on student and program-level interventions, comprehensive injury reporting and monitoring and dedicated safety officer support.
- Summer 2024: Behavioral health coaching and training academy, which included an 8-day certification program, advanced training, recertification options and OSHA-recommended training aligned with trauma and stress-informed practices. The district also opened a day treatment/partial hospitalization facility (outpatient treatment for students aged 5-17 with mental health challenges).
- Winter 2025: The district planned to expand its interim therapeutic care classroom.
Alexander Banks is an AAJA-SPJ reporting intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach him at abanks@statesmanjournal.com
