Physical Restraints, Isolation of Students Gets Tighter Rules in Mass. Public Schools - Massachusetts news - Boston.com

Physical Restraints, Isolation of Students Gets Tighter Rules in Mass. Public Schools - Massachusetts news - Boston.com



Massachusetts public schools now have stricter rules for how and when they can phyically restrain and seclude students, a reaction to a scathing report on their misuse last year.
Bay State teachers will not be allowed to pin students face-down on the floor, and are required to get the principal’s permission to put a student in time-out for more than a half-hour, ProPublica reports. The changes were approved in December 2014 and will go into effect at the beginning of 2016.

Specifically, the investigation found that Massachusetts did not have specific rules prohibiting the seclusion of students and did not prohibit restraints that restricted breathing. Massachusetts was given a 2 on the 12-point scale of best practices.The restrictions are a reaction to a report from ProPublica and NPR which found widespread use in public schools of secluded rooms and physical restraints as punishments for bad behavior. These sometimes resulted in injuries and trauma to students who were forcibly held down or left isolated in secluded rooms. Their report found that at least 20 students had died from these tactics.
The state Secretary of Education said at the time that they would examine the state’s policies toward seclusion and restraints.

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