Friday, August 31, 2012

ABC 7: 45 Minute Restraint of Small Child with Down Syndrome Violated State Law

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Posted by Janis Sartucci at 1:39 PM
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12 comments:

  1. About time someone shed light on MCPS and their abusive physical restraint practices. For shame, Chris Richardson! A tiny nonverbal child with down syndrome, and your school staff treats him this way? I hope the family takes the lawsuit as far as necessary to impose a financial penalty on those staff that wont soon be forgotten. And, by the way, Sewerintendent Starr's children go to Burnimg Tree. Would they treat his children that way? Fire these people!

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  2. It's way, way more common than anyone would expect. I have 2 kids - both have been restrained in MCPS, one in Kindergarten and one in 4th grade. It makes you sick, and the whole family is traumatized. I'm still having trouble coming to grips with it all.

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  3. What also concerns me is that staff did not adequately support this child before hand - to prevent him from feeling so frustrated that he wanted to bang his head on the floor...

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  4. The principal of Burning Tree at the time of the incident appeared to be Nancy Erdrich.
    Now that individual is on "special assignment."
    Mrs. Nancy L Erdrich, Administrator on Special Assignment
    240-453-2575 | Elementary Integrated Curriculum Team (Organizational Chart)

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    1. The Principal at Kemp Mill restrains students, all by himself, in a closet, with the door shut and the window covered. Principal Floyd Starnes is still the principal at Kemp Mill. What are the rules regarding restraint, and is it proper protocol for staff or principals to lock themselves in a closet with a student? I have yet to see the board address either of these issues.

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  5. What an idiotic law. So if a kid is still biting, fighting, and scratching and its 29 minutes and 59 seconds the staff has to jump out of the away and let him attack other people?

    They need to change the law.

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  6. This child must have an IEP and the restraint should be in there. my questions is this: if after the maximum time limit of a restraint - 30 minutes - what is the next step? if the child was still trying to hurt himself and those around him after 30 minutes, do they just let him go since the maximum time passed or does something happen? what is the protocol to keep the child and the staff safe?

    and in response to anonymous regarding principal starnes locking kids in a closet, if i ever found out that happened to my child, i would be calling the police as well as child protective services to report him! That is not OK. i think that restraint is only allowed if it is in an IEP (but i'm not sure).

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    Replies

    1. No, it's allowed at any time to prevent serious and imminent bodily harm to the child or others.

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    2. subishi
      According to the regulations in most states and the IDEA, restraints and seclusion may not be a part of an IDEA other than to state that they can NOT be used.

      Rick

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  7. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jgara.pdf

    this is the link to the official MCPS policy regarding restraints and seclusion.

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  8. I can't imagine why it would require four adults to restrain one 40 pound child.
    And 30 minutes of prone restraint is about 30 minute too long. Any restraint can restrict breathing. It only takes a couple of minutes without air to cause serious injury or even death.

    Rick

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  9. From GAO report, 2009:
    GAO found no federal laws restricting the use of seclusion and restraints in
    public and private schools and widely divergent laws at the state level.
    Although GAO could not determine whether allegations were widespread,
    GAO did find hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to the use
    of these methods on school children during the past two decades.
    Examples
    of these cases include a 7 year old purportedly dying after being held face
    down for hours by school staff, 5 year olds allegedly being tied to chairs with
    bungee cords and duct tape by their teacher and suffering broken arms and
    bloody noses, and a 13 year old reportedly hanging himself in a seclusion
    room after prolonged confinement. Although GAO continues to receive new
    allegations from parents and advocacy groups, GAO could not find a single
    Web site, federal agency, or other entity that collects information on the use
    of these methods or the extent of their alleged abuse.
    GAO also examined the details of 10 restraint and seclusion cases in which
    there was a criminal conviction, a finding of civil or administrative liability, or
    a large financial settlement. The cases share the following common themes:
    they involved children with disabilities who were restrained and secluded,
    often in cases where they were not physically aggressive and their parents did
    not give consent; restraints that block air to the lungs can be deadly; teachers
    and staff in the cases were often not trained on the use of seclusions and
    restraints; and teachers and staff from at least 5 of the 10 cases continue to be
    employed as educators. The table contains information on four of these cases.

    ReplyDelete

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