More parents report student restraints; Maine Dept. of Education
0 Comments | Sun Journal; Lewiston, Me., Jul 20, 2010 | by Emily Parkhurst
Related Links
* Children held down: Families question therapeutic restraints in schools
* Editorial: Are student restraints a state secret?
* 100 restraints a year in Lewiston
SCARBOROUGH ? After a story detailing one family’s experience with therapeutic restraint was published last week, many other parents came forward to share their experiences, while state agencies downplayed the problem.
Wayne Jackson said his family moved after his son was reportedly restrained improperly in 2008 at Whitefield Elementary School, which is now part of the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit 12.
Jackson said his then 8-year-old son, Brandon, who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and early- onset bipolar disorder, was being disruptive in class when the principal allegedly grabbed him and restrained him in a prone position on the floor.
“Prone restraint was not even supposed to be used on Brandon. He has asthma, so they’re not allowed to restrict his airway,” Jackson said.
He said he had spoken to the school about the possible use of restraint to bring Brandon under control, but that he had asked to be called before any restraint was used.
“They didn’t call until after the restraint. I was only three minutes away,” he said.
Jackson said after the restraint, his son was transferred to Chelsea School, which is run by Spurwink.
“They were able to redirect him. They never used restraint,” Jackson said.
However, the family is still concerned that there are no regulations in place to protect children in public schools. Jackson said he wants to see teachers receive proper training.
“If they’re not trained, they definitely should not be restraining our children,” he said.
The Forecaster received calls and e-mails from parents in Lewiston, South Portland, Cumberland, Scarborough, RSU 16 (Poland, Mechanic Falls, Minot) and Brunswick, as well as from parents as far away as Florida, all of whom had similar stories of restraints and seclusions used on their children – primarily, although not exclusively, boys between the ages of 5 and 18.
Some of the children were diagnosed with autism or emotional disorders, but others were not special education students. Some were held many times, some held in prone positions for more than an hour at a time.
“We’re very concerned about this,” Maine Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin said Monday.
However, he said the DOE does not have plans to require schools to report this information because schools already have a lot of reporting requirements. He added that the department is not allowed to exceed federal reporting requirements.
“The authority to deal with complaints is primarily at the local level. When there’s a serious violation, parents bring that forward,” Connerty-Marin said.
Several southern Maine school departments do not compile or report restraint data and refused to release restraint documents after The Forecaster made a Freedom of Access Act request. The schools did agree to add up the number of restraints done in the past year, but some, including parents whose children were restrained, claim the data is drastically understated.
“If a school is not reporting it to you, they’re not going to report to the state either,” Connerty-Marin said.
When asked if the DOE is aware that none of the six schools in the initial FOAA request had updated their policies to reflect a DOE- requested prohibition of restraints that restrict a child’s airway, Connerty-Marin said the agency would look into that.
The U.S. Senate has looked into this issue. Sen. Chris Dodd, D- Conn., earlier this year introduced a bill that would prevent harmful restrain and seclusion in schools
attention deficit disorder
About the Author
