Our mission is to inform changes in policy and practice to reduce and eliminate the use of punitive discipline and outdated behavioral management approaches and end the school-to-prison pipeline.
About seclusion and restraint
Restraint and seclusion are crisis management strategies that are used in many schools across the nation and the world. Physical Restraint, is exactly what it sounds like, it is a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arms, legs or head freely. Seclusion is the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. These interventions are dangerous and have led to serious injuries and even death in students, teachers and staff.
According to federal guidance restraint and/or seclusion should never be used except in situations where a child’s behavior poses an imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others, and restraint and seclusion should be avoided to the greatest extent possible without endangering the safety of students and staff.
Latest Stories
A Trauma-informed Lens on Behavior
Students who have experienced trauma may not always display behaviors that immediately evoke empathy. Managing and expressing emotions can be challenging for these children due to the impact of trauma on their brains. The trauma alters their brain’s instinctual response to “fight, flight, or freeze,” making emotional regulation difficult.
The Lost Years of “Treatment”
My experience in the troubled teen industry began when I was 12 years old and was unnecessarily sent to rehab. There, I was regularly interrogated and pressured into admitting to drug use and forced to identify as an “addict.” Despite knowing that I didn’t belong there initially, with everyone around me telling me otherwise and…
In Alice’s Own Words
“I’m a female human child,” Alice proclaims as I strap her into her car seat after her first day of school. Seven and a half years into my parenting journey, I still don’t always fully comprehend the impact of Alice’s words when I hear them. She is minimally or unreliably speaking and often uses an…
Students with Disabilities Have as Much Right to be in Public Schools as Non-disabled Students
The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees every individual is allowed equal protection and due process of Federal and state rights. Yep, even children. Public school is either local or state-controlled. Public school is a public service program. It is the same as public sidewalks, meaning all citizens are allowed equal access to and…
What About the “Other” Children?
What about the other children? The very problem with this question is that it is coming from a place that only holds space for neurotypical children who don’t appear to need more support. I say appear because there are so many children who are simply better at masking but would absolutely benefit from the same…
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