Unrestrained restraint

The story from last weekend's Washington Post about the restraint and seclusion practices in Loudoun County Public Schools appeared in the news section, although for parents like me, there is nothing new about this issue. An online search yields plenty of stories that feature students who have been injured or traumatized, or cite statistics about the practice's use in school systems. The numbers are usually alarming.

Also alarming is the growing number of students in public schools with complex needs, which can include challenging behavior. Too often, restraint and seclusion are substituted for quality Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs). Restraint or seclusion should be a last resort, not something a student regularly experiences.

My name is on exactly zero scholarly journal articles on education topics. But I am a journalist-turned-social worker with a lot of experience in support groups. I've collected stories about students who have been carried through hallways; placed in restrictive holds by adults who lack certification for the restraints they're using; or even screamed at by school staff behind closed doors. And in most, if not all of those cases, a state statute requiring written notification to parents of any incident involving physical restraint was completely ignored.

I don't know Gigi Daniel-Zagorites, the student featured at the top of the Post article, so my insight is confined to the details reported in the story. In the accompanying photo, she certainly doesn't appear to be threatening her own safety or anyone else's, which makes it hard to imagine why she is still  penned in by two pieces of furniture with a primo view of the back of a staff member.

Sometimes there truly is no way out of a crisis other than restraining or removing a student to prevent injury to that student or others. But federal law doesn't exist around this issue, only federal guidance, leaving plenty of room for restraint and seclusion to be used as shortcuts in the absence of adequate staff training, building resources, understanding of students' needs, and compassion. Forcing vulnerable students into a corner implies they are the problem, when the real failures belong to the adults charged with helping them.