GAO study on restraint and seclusion of special education students frightening

May 20, 10:30 AMChicago Special Education ExaminerKindall Nelson

Previous Next

6 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago Special Education Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

This seclusion room is where a 13 year old boy hung himself. Officials say it is no longer in use. 

 According to Tuesday's report by the Government Accountability Office, more special education teachers than once thought are crossing the line between discipline and child abuse. The GAO found that there were not only no federal laws that determined appropriate use of seclusion or restraints, but also that state laws varied widely. There is also no entity, government or otherwise, who is responsible for keeping track of the types of seclusion or restraints or the possible abuse of these methods.

The GAO did find, however, hundreds of cases from the last twenty years that pointed to alleged child abuse and even death due to the misuse of restraints and seclusion. Most of the time, however, little is done for the teachers or the students who have suffered. In fact, out of ten cases in which a sentence was handed down (either a conviction, a finding of liability, or a large monetary settlement) teachers from five of those cases continue to teach. Here are some examples of these cases:

A 14-year-old boy with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) was held face down on the floor by a teacher who was 100 lbs heavier than the student. The student died. What did the student do to deserve this? He would not stay seated in class. While the death was ruled a homicide, the teacher was never indicted and now teaches in another state. Update: Teacher has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation.

A volunteer teacher's aid in Florida gagged and duct-taped five children aged five and six years old for misbehaving. Not only was the aide on probation for burglary and cocaine possession, but the school had no records indicating that they ran a background check on him. He pled guilty to false imprisonment and battery.

A 13-year-old Georgia boy hung himself after being left in seclusion for hours at a time. At last check, the state is still trying to decide if the case has enough merit to go before a jury.

Many special education teachers insist that there are appropriate uses of both seclusion and restraints, especially in the case where a child is going to harm himself or others in the room. The problem is, that none of the ten cases that the GAO highlights in their report involved a violent child.

Dr. Roger Pierangelo (Executive Director for the National Association of Special Education Teachers) says that Teachers have not been trained to handle the large influx of children with special needs. The United States is educating more that a half million more special needs students than it did just ten years ago. "When you have an out-of-control student threatening your class -- it's not right and it can be very damaging -- but seclusion is used as a 'quick fix' in many cases." he says.

Part of the problem has been that the general public doesn't even know that these methods are being used in the classrooms. Hopefully, shedding some light on these situations will move the public to action.

See Also:

Parents are key to prevention of abuse in special education classrooms

Check back soon or subscribe to Kindall Nelson's Email Alerts above for updates as the investigation continues to unfold.

Click here if you would like to read the 65 page report from the Government Accountability Office.