What does seclusion look like in an elementary school?

[Anonymous]

My daughter was recently physically held down at school when she was not complying. I am having an IEP meeting to come up with other strategies to use and tell them they can’t do that anymore. (And yes, I know it was illegal.) I want to say they also can’t seclude her but what does seclusion look like in elementary school? She has ASD level 1 and is in a gen Ed classroom. But she sometimes refuses to follow directions. I don’t want them, I don’t know, locking her in a room. I have no idea what they range of possibilities is that I need to tell them not to do.

[Anonymous]

Holds are not illegal if the child was a danger to themselves or others. I’m so sorry that your child is struggling this much and I guarantee the school is coming in, looking for any other possible solution. What works at home ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holds are not illegal if the child was a danger to themselves or others. I’m so sorry that your child is struggling this much and I guarantee the school is coming in, looking for any other possible solution. What works at home ?

This is not necessarily correct. Different states have different legal requirements. Some require much more than being "a danger to themselves or others."

- special ed attorney

[Anonymous]

Have they had a behavioral
Specialist come in and do a FBA?

[Anonymous]

This is OP. She wasn’t a danger to herself or anyone else. They aren’t claiming she was. They were just trying to get her to do what they wanted/needed her to do. I am a lawyer. I’m not actually asking for advice about the hold. It was blatantly illegal. I’m asking about the seclusion part.

My concern is that if they are so comfortable illegally restraining children, perhaps they are comfortable illegally secluding them as well. I want to be clear that they are not permitted to do either. I don’t know how seclusion comes up, though. It’s not like they have a padded room they put kids in, as far as I know! Does anyone have insight?

[Anonymous]

It depends on your school system. In FCPS we did have seclusion rooms in special ed center programs. They were small rooms with windows, no padding. They were outlawed, and now there are children who continue to have severe mental health crises and need to be contained, but can’t be. That’s a whole different topic. They were only used after other interventions were tried and documented, with close supervision while the child was inside. Only if the child was a danger to self or others. Just a small room.

[Anonymous]

OP I hope you're considering a state complaint for the illegal restraint. I would contact an education lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Former NoVa family. My son's elementary school had a utility closet in the main office that they would lock one of the kids in. It was terrible. Just knowing that this could happen at school really messed up my kid.

[Anonymous]

Most districts do not allow seclusion or seclusion rooms anymore. It's much more common to do a room clear if a student is having a major meltdown or destroying property.

[Anonymous]

To get answers you’re going to have to reveal your school. Also if things are this bad, are they considering moving your child to a different program?

[Anonymous]

If you are in Virginia, the definition of seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room from which the student is physically prevented from leaving.

It is not the same thing as a time out, in-school suspension or removal from one area to provide the student an opportunity to regain self-control. The student is in a setting where they are not physically prevented from leaving.

The seclusion space shall be free of objects or physical features that may cause injury to the student.
It should have lighting, heating, cooling & ventilation.
It should be visible to outsiders either through a window or by mirrors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have they had a behavioral
Specialist come in and do a FBA?

This could be a good next step. So sorry you’re in this predicament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on your school system. In FCPS we did have seclusion rooms in special ed center programs. They were small rooms with windows, no padding. They were outlawed, and now there are children who continue to have severe mental health crises and need to be contained, but can’t be. That’s a whole different topic. They were only used after other interventions were tried and documented, with close supervision while the child was inside. Only if the child was a danger to self or others. Just a small room.

No, the problem was that FCPS was locking kids in seclusion rooms *alone.* There wasn't close supervision.

[Anonymous]

Here is a good resource -
https://endseclusion.org/

[Anonymous]

What kind of lawyer are you, OP?

Seclusion happens all sorts of ways. It can be as overt as sending kid to hallway alone, or as covert as sending kid to library during class time.

I am also a lawyer and would be on the news if school restrained my child. You seem very calm.