City Paper article on seclusion and restraint in D.C. Schools
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Anonymous
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https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/21106192/when-dc-schools-use-restraint-or-seclusion-no-laws-govern-them-allegations-of-abuse-are-piling-up
"Out of all the tools schools have for managing children, two are perhaps the most extreme: seclusion and restraint. The U.S. Department of Education says the techniques should only be used as a last resort, exclusively “in situations where the child’s behavior poses imminent danger of serious physical harm.” The District of Columbia, however, has long ignored that stern guideline. In fact, there are zero laws governing how the techniques can be used in D.C.’s public schools—laws that exist almost everywhere else in the country, and for good reason." |
Anonymous
| I had no idea that DC has zero regulations on this. Scary. |
Anonymous
| Un. This is horrifying! I think Bridges needs to be shut down. But we have no laws to do so??? |
Anonymous
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No refs. And the ones out for public comment do not require any reporting to an outside agency. That DCPS doesn’t track this...
This is outrageous. |
Anonymous
Not just Bridges. The BS ‘alternatives’ DCPS sends kids to, River Terrace, and more we don’t know about. |
Anonymous
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“ Another disparity is far more jarring. That year, every single student restrained or secluded was a person of color.
Ninety-five percent of children secluded were black. So were 94 percent of children restrained. All the other children were mixed-race, Hispanic, or Native-American.” |
Anonymous
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Also silence by the supposed oversight agencies. Hope this article helps
“ On Sept. 19, DRDC sent their findings and recommendations to OSSE and the Public Charter School Board (PCSB). Three months later, neither agency has responded.” |
Anonymous
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oh yeah, being shut into one of those rooms sure would be CALMING! wtf.
DS's preschool/daycare was inclusive and they had what they called a "sensory room" - it had lots of bright colored mats, big bright windows, and big stuffed bean-bag like things you could jump on or roll over. That's what a real "calm down" room is like. |
Anonymous
| Yet we have councilmembers who are more concerned about PTO funds... |
Anonymous
It does not need to be shut down, DC needs to regulate the practice and OSSE needs to hold schools accountable. |
Anonymous
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Just about every single place where seclusion/restraint is used, it is abused.
Everyone has guidelines/rules regarding when and how to use seclusion and restraint and they are routinely ignored. Everyone assumes s/r is used primarily on children who are a danger to others, and it just isn't true. There are so many cases of abuse of seclusion/restraint in our local area and they rarely make the news or get any attention. |
Anonymous
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There really isnt any way to ensure the rules and guidelines are followed when seclusion and/or restraint are used. That's the problem. In many cases, the people working with the kids exposed to this are so poorly educated themselves they barely understand the disabilities and issues they are encountering.
A 13 year old student, Max Benson, died while being restrained in a prone position for almost an hour even though he had calmed down. It is questionable as to what his behavior was that caused his teacher and admins of the school to do a take down maneuver on him and restrain him.. He was begging to be released and asked to go to the bathroom. They would not get off him. He peed himself and vomited. They still would not let him up. They continued to stay on top of him after he lost consciousness. They never monitored him like they were supposed to. The teachers involved were not uneducated. They were trained to deal with students like Max but ignored any good training they had received. Prone restraints are known to be deadly. He had a behavior intervention plan, which documented how to help him manage his behaviors and they ignored it. Parents with children who have behavior intervention plans will tell you they are ignored all the time. It needs to be noted that his behaviors prior to being restrained did not warrant this level of reaction. This kind of stuff happens, ALL THE TIME. |
Anonymous
How does one hold schools accountable? Every place seclusion and restraint is used, it is abused. Every single place. |
Anonymous
| All the schools who use it, grossly under-report. |
Anonymous
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If you think bridges is the only school that uses seclusion you are wrong.
DC sped is a disaster. I’m hoping for a few good parent law suits so someone else takes us over. Love, Dcps sped teacher |