The district in 2022 submitted revised restraint and seclusion data to the federal government dating to the 2015-16 school year, said Matt Dees, a spokesperson for the Wake County Public School System, where Staten’s son attended school. The Wake County Public School System declined to answer questions about Staten’s case for this article, citing student privacy law.Ī 2022 report to Congress found North Carolina schools handed lengthy suspensions or expulsions to students with disabilities at the highest rate in the nation. “Sometimes school communities are making a deliberate choice not to record,” Lhamon said. It’s a failing even the Department of Education acknowledges. But those are likely undercounts, say parents and advocates for students, because the system relies on school staff and administrators to self-report. Tens of thousands of restraint and seclusion cases are reported to the federal government in any given year. No federal law prohibits restraint and seclusion, leaving a patchwork of practices across states and school districts with little oversight and accountability, according to parents and advocates for people with disabilities. I’m seeing parents with pictures of children with bruises and children afraid to go to school.” The tactics are “being used in ways that are inappropriate. “In an ideal world, it should be banned,” said Stacey Gahagan, an attorney and civil rights expert who has successfully represented families in seclusion and restraint cases. In the worst cases, children have reportedly died or suffered serious injury. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced new guidance to schools in 2022, saying that, “too often, students with disabilities face harsh and exclusionary disciplinary action.”įor more than a decade, school nurses, pediatricians, lawmakers, and others have warned that restraint and seclusion can cause long-lasting trauma and escalate negative behaviors. Lhamon called the practices “a life-or-death topic” and noted the importance of collecting accurate federal data. The Department of Education says it is meeting with schools that underreport cases of restraint and seclusion, tactics used disproportionately on students with disabilities and children of color like Staten’s son. The practice is “used and is used at often very high rates in ways that are quite damaging to students,” said Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights.
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