Report Warns of Student Injuries, Even Deaths, at the Hands of Teachers

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

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According to a report released today by the Government Accountability Organization, the widespread use of the often violent and abusive techniques of restraining or secluding students with special needs has led to hundreds of fatalities and injuries of American school children in the past two decades.

Of the hundreds of cases the GAO reviewed, at least 20 instances of restraint or seclusion resulted in the death of a child.

The report will be the focal point of a hearing in Washington, D.C., today before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, which is meeting to examine whether the seclusion and restraint of students should be banned by federal law.

In his remarks, committee chairman Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., described the report's findings as "alarming" and "eye opening."

"Recent news reports document appalling stories of teachers tying children to chairs, taping their mouths shut, using handcuffs, denying them food, fracturing bones, locking them in small dark spaces, and sitting on them until they turn blue," Miller said.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=7618327&page=1

[no_hypocrisy]

1. We haven't progressed much from Smythe's barbaric treatment at his "school" (Nicholas Nickelby).

[lamp_shade]

2. I caught a few minutes of the hearing on cspan today. A mother was

describing the physical abuse of her child who had aspergers. She worked very hard at remaining calm... I cried like a baby. I can't believe this isn't already banned.

[Hepburn]

8. I heard that, too....

...made me ill. Picked the child up by the arms behind her back and a leg and then dumped, head first, on the floor. Took her to an empty classroom to do this.

:grr:

[Happyhippychick]

3. Add in the fact that corporal punishment is allowed in the schools in 22 states.

When will we stop sanctioning violence of ANY KIND toward our children?

[Kerrytravelers]

4. As a former classroom teacher, who has had children diagnosed with Emotional Disturbances,

what we need are more specialized classrooms with more than one adult. Often, an outburst is followed by adrenline and excitement from the other students that brings the situation to the violent ends.

I've never had to lay hands on a kid, but if a student was so out of control that the safety of others was jeapordized, I would have no choice but to restrain them until help came. Outbursts can happen in the blink of an eye.

These reports are alarming. I agree with Miller. I hope, however, that a real, workable solution is found. Something has to be done to protect all involved.

[imdjh]

7. In the beginning of the report it said that they had a "right" to be in the regular classroom

I don't know how teachers manage classrooms that aren't segregated by ability and/or disability.

[Kerrytravelers]

11. In my state, parents can have their child removed from a Special Day class and place in General Ed.

A parent's demand can override the district's placement. It takes a court order to have a child removed from the classroom, and that requires documentation and an "incident" to occurr to spur the court order. I have never had to deal with that.

This is one reason I am no longer in a traditional classroom setting. I now work with an Independent Study Program. I had enough of all the chaos and lack of support from the administration.

[DollyM]

19. stories like this are why I home school!

eom

[mbperrin]

15. Not really a "right" but federal laws require that schools begin with the

idea of inclusion in the regular classroom before considering other placements.

Here's a pretty clear link:
http://www.weac.org/Issues_Advocacy/Resource_Pages_On_Issues_One/Special_Education/special_education_inclusion.aspx

I work in a large public high school (2500+ enrollment) which has about 350 special education learners. In 13 years, the only time I have ever heard of a student being restrained was when a 6'2" tall male became angry at his 5' tall teacher and pushed her to the floor, stomped her ribs several times, breaking 4. The aide put a full nelson on him and brought him to the floor, where all violence ceased immediately.

I have about 30 special education students per year with my 150 regular students and have never had a problem of any sort with any of them acting up or out. Same for my regular students.

That said, we do have a self-contained classroom for 18 emotionally disturbed students, who are never in regular classrooms.

I think that many districts do not take the time to fully understand special education laws. There are always bullies, both adults and children, in any system. We've got to work to keep either of them from acting up, much less injuring or killing anyone.

[FloridaJudy]

17. I hear ya

I once worked in a half-way house for delinquent girls. Most of them were victims of abuse, or had medical issues. One very sweet girl had episodes of what sure looked like psychomotor epilepsy. She'd totally lose it, and either attack others or attempt to injure herself. We had to restrain her when that happened: she'd bang her head bloody, try to rip her own flesh, or turn Hannibal Lector on the other residents. But we did it gently, and monitored her at all times. We sure didn't do it because she didn't follow the rules, or said something unpleasant. And it wasn't punishment - it was done for everybody's protection.

I think restraint/isolation should be treated the way enlightened police departments treat officer-involved shooting. Insist on a full inquiry. Sometimes it's justified, but all too often someone over-reacted, or allowed the situation to escalate unnecessarily.

[Wednesdays]

5. Torture...it's becoming an American tradition.

"'Recent news reports document appalling stories of teachers tying children to chairs, taping their mouths shut, using handcuffs, denying them food, fracturing bones, locking them in small dark spaces, and sitting on them until they turn blue,' Miller said."

"'This behavior that does, in some instances, look like torture of young children certainly is so inconsistent with our beliefs about our public institution that it's hard for people to come to grasps with,' said Miller."

Oh, wait...those aren't torture. They're Advanced Disciplinary Techniques. :eyes:

[mike_c]

6. some days I'd like to slap a few of them around....

Of course, most would kick my ass first, then sue my pants off. Oh well, only in fantasy....

on edit: my students are ostensibly adults, or at least semi-adults. Some are semi-human....

[The Hope Mobile]

9. I'd like to know how they define restraining. I've worked in schools

and facilities where they restrain kids sometimes and it is usually done to keep the child from harming themself. If a child is angrily flailing around unable to regain control or composure sometimes the best thing to do for that child is to remove him from that situation. Tying children, taping their mouths, using handcuffs, etc., of course, is absolutely not acceptable. Just sayin' that they need to be careful with how they define things in the ban because it is necessary at times to restrain someone to get them under control to the point of being able to function in the classroom.

[cindyfaulkner]

10. I work as a substitute teacher

and with a lot of special needs kids. Have seen some assistants for FMD (fully mentally disabled) kids do some ugly stuff.

[kfred]

12. My kid was like that

I learned the "basket hold" from a SpecEd teacher. 
He had temper tantrums thru 2nd grade along with his other
physical problems.  We've worked through those issues.  But I
must acknowledge that there are children who lose control and
the teachers must exert control.  There are methods though
that do not involve temper, pain, or humiliation.

*yeah, I'm a lurker in Cooking and Gardening..............

[MadMaddie]

13. Thanks for sharing

please come visit us more often!

:hi:

[kfred]

14. Thankee kindly n/t

[jazzjunkysue]

16. 24 year NY veteran here. Never heard of anything like this. Ever.

I've taught all over NY state (Not the city schools) and I've never heard of any of this kind of wrong doing.

But there are routine instances of parents threatening teachers and kids assaulting teachers.

This just doesn't ring true to me. Special ed kids sometimes cannot control themselves, and we have to hold them until the parents can come and try to restrain them.

What choice do we have when they become violent?

[DollyM]

18. My first grade teacher did those type of things too . . .

That was 1967 when I was in first grade. Our teacher would tape our mouths shut with duct tape, use ropes to tie us in our chair if we were wiggling too much, etc. She is still around and in her 90's and is much revered. I just think if she had done those things today, she would have been in jail or at least had her teacher's license pulled. I just know it was a terrible way to start school with her as a teacher. I was a very quiet, shy child and she didn't do anything to help that with her abusive techniques of "teaching." That brings back very bad memories for me . . .

[undergroundpanther]

20. Adolescent psych wards

sometimes have schools. In the Hospital/school I was in for a few years,was one such combination. I went in there at age 16 and was on the adolescent ward/school until I was over 18. Than I got transferred to the adult wing.

When I was 16,I spent 18 months locked in a small white room alone day after day. I thought it was 9 months until I got my paws on my own records.
I slept,ate meals,stared at the wall in there.I spent other times on the unit severely drugged up and forced to stay awake.If I fell asleep I'd be restrained or locked in the room.It was so hard to stay awake with so much Thorazine in my body and if I did not drink it,they'd pin me down, strip me,and give me a shot in my hip.I had no choice..
I have been forcibly stripped,and restrained spread eagle,I have been restrained and drugged up too.I was restrained drugged than wrapped up in freezing cold sheets,for hours.They took my pulse every so often in case I would get hypothermia.I have been shot up with anectine. I went through hell there. I could not tell my mom any of this because if I tried to tell her,my emotions got overwhelming and they'd send her away and lock me up. So I held it all in just to see my mom.

This place that was supposed to help me just re-traumatized me. To this day I cannot stand bare white walls,certain smells or anything restraining me or my upper arms,I cannot cope with,I am re-traumatized by psych units.

What goes on on the inside of some of these institutions is..torture, literally.Being a highly esteemed and regarded institution does not save the patient/student from facing torture by the staff.