Opponents demand time-out on child coercion in Utah schools

SOUTH JORDAN, UT. Small gray rooms about the size of a pot, with soft padding inside, a metal latch and a small window on the door.

They wouldn’t seem out of place in a mental hospital. But Stephanie Merrill, the mother of 8-year-old twin boys with autism, said she was “horrified” when she saw the rooms during a recent tour of Elk Meadows Elementary School in South Jordan.

“My first thought when I saw those boxes was solitary confinement,” she said in an interview. “The only thing missing was a straitjacket.”

These rooms have many names, some of which sound more innocuous than others – from “isolation rest rooms” and “isolation boxes” to “calm rooms” or “quiet rooms.” Whatever they are called, they are intended to serve one purpose: to keep Utah classrooms safe by isolating children who pose an immediate threat of “serious physical harm” to themselves or others.

Overall, students across the state were placed in isolation more than 1,300 times during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a FOX 13 News analysis of federal government data. Civil Rights Data Survey. These figures are the most recent available at this time and are almost certainly influenced by school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Simply put, seclusion is the practice of placing “a child in a room or place against his will and not letting him out,” said Guy Stevens, a national opponent of the practice with the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint.

“In a school setting, it often looks like a child who is acting aggressively is being forced into a drug room, placed there while someone either blocks the exit or holds the door closed,” he added.

Children are sometimes – but not always – isolated in a specially designated room, like the one Merrill was shown. Data shows that the majority of students placed in seclusion are in primary school and the majority have disabilities.

While legislators in states like Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, And Texas either banned or severely limited the use of insulation, rules established by the Utah State Board of Education allow this under narrow security circumstances.

These rules limit seclusion time to no more than 30 minutes at a time and require supervision at all times, as well as notification to the student’s parents and school administrators each time it is used. They also clarify that this tactic should never be used to punish or discipline a child.

“This could be a circumstance of self-harm,” Ashley Lower, a behavior specialist with the Utah State Board of Education, said of instances where seclusion may be appropriate. “Or they may find themselves in a position where they become physically aggressive or violent towards another student or adult.”

Whatever the context, she said, “isolating time out is a last resort.”

FOX 13 News reached out to all 44 Utah districts and charter schools that reported using lockdowns during the 2020-2021 school year. In their statements, they emphasized their commitment to using the tactic as a last resort and emphasized compliance with government regulations governing its use.

However, opponents believe the lockdown is routinely abused and want it banned entirely in the state. They point to the potential for lifelong trauma for students placed in seclusion, as well as the potential for civil rights violations and discrimination, given the prevalence of these tactics among
students with disabilities.

“I don’t think privacy is ever appropriate,” Stevens said.

“BUILDED IN A BOX”

Knocking on the walls. Scream. Crying for a loved one.

This is how children sometimes react to being kept in a confined space and not allowed to leave, says Stevens, who has worked with parents across the country whose children have been placed in isolation.

“We often see that the stress is so high that children may even urinate or defecate on their own,” he added.

Stevens founded the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restriction after his own son, a neurodivergent person, was segregated in Maryland schools. Because of this, the boy was so afraid to return to class that he had to be homeschooled for some time.

“The impact is really long-lasting,” he said. “I mean, I know kids who were restrained or sequestered when they were 7 or 8 years old, who at 18 or 19 years old can’t sleep with the door closed at night, are afraid to get into an elevator or go into a small enclosed space. space.”

The federal government has said there is “no evidence that restraint or seclusion is effective” in addressing underlying behavioral problems. But research shows such tactics can be traumatic and have “profound and lasting consequences” for children as they grow, Stevens said.

“People often say, ‘Oh, we have padding (in isolation rooms) to keep the baby from getting hurt,'” he said. “There is no cushion in the world that can protect a child from the trauma he would have to endure if he were placed in a room against his will.”

Guy Stevens explains why he created the Alliance Against Lockdown and Restriction:

Guy Stevens

The data shows isolation is widespread across the state, with 125 schools in 21 of Utah’s 29 counties reporting at least one case in the 2020-2021 school year.

That year, schools reported a total of 1,319 cases of seclusion among just 529 students, indicating that some children were repeatedly placed in seclusion.

Nate Cripps, an attorney with the Utah Disability Law Center, says the trauma caused by isolation can sometimes lead to additional behavioral problems in children, creating a vicious cycle in which teachers may begin placing these students in isolation even more often to cope. them.
new problems.

“In at least some of the cases that we’ve heard or seen, (isolation) can escalate the behavior,” Cripps said, noting that the Disability Law Center is hearing concerns about parental isolation in the state at least several times a year. year. “It probably leads to more isolation or more reticence.”

While there are no federal regulations governing the use of restraints, the U.S. Department of Education has issued guidance to schools about the tactic and noted that repeated use of restraint should be considered a warning sign that students are not getting the help they need.

The department also warned that seclusion could lead to discrimination, given that students with disabilities are segregated at a much higher rate than students without. In Utah, about 80% of all seclusion cases involved children with disabilities.

Such disproportionate use could result in students being “essentially denied access to education in a variety of ways,” Cripps said.

“If you’re stuck in a box somewhere, you’re not going to get the same education as everyone else your age,” he said. “You miss out on all the teaching time, all the interaction with your fellow students. You’re missing out on so much. In addition, you may also experience serious injury.”

THESE ARE THE UTAH SCHOOLS THAT HAD THE MOST STUDENTS DISMISSED FOR THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR:

• In 2020-2021, Spectrum Academy in North Salt Lake City had 178 reported seclusion incidents.
• At Amelia Earhart School in the Provo School District, there were 136 reported seclusion incidents in 2020-21.
• At Rocky Mountain High School in the Wasatch School District, there were 117 reported seclusion incidents in 2020-21.
• In 2020-2021, JR Smith School in the Wasatch School District had 99 reported seclusion incidents.
• At Spectrum Academy in Pleasant Grove, there were 75 seclusion cases reported in 2020-2021.
• At Eagle Bay School in the Davis School District, there were 70 seclusion cases reported in 2020-21.
• At Crestview School in the Davis School District, 67 seclusion incidents were reported in 2020-21.
• In 2020-2021, Kauri Sue Hamilton School in the Jordan School District had 51 seclusion incidents.

“WE WANT A PUBLIC WALKING”

After visiting Elk Meadows Elementary School this fall and learning about isolation timeouts in Utah schools, Merrill said she couldn’t sleep. All she could imagine was her son Austin, “scared to death” and “fighting for his life” in what looked like a small, padded cell.

A few years earlier, Merrill and her husband adopted twins who had been exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb through the foster care system. And she worried that by placing him in a school that uses segregated time-out rooms, she risked exposing him to additional trauma.

“Our children were traumatized before they were born,” she said. “And I categorically refuse. Absolutely, my son will never fit into any of these boxes.”

Merrill ultimately decided not to send her son to school, but has since fought to raise awareness about isolation among Utah parents and policymakers.

“We want to create public outcry and outrage about the use of these boxes,” she said.

The Jordan School District did not respond to FOX 13 News’ request for a tour of Elk Meadows Elementary School, nor did it answer specific questions about the lockdown. Instead, the district released a statement emphasizing its commitment to the safety of students and staff.

Kim Deverall

“These facilities are used very rarely, only as a last resort for short periods of time for the safety of students and staff,” Sandra Riesgraf, the district’s communications director, said in a statement. “The premises are being used for emergency security purposes in accordance with strict state and county requirements and only by highly trained personnel.”

Previously, a KUTV report in February came under scrutiny for the area’s isolation timeout practice after photos circulated of an isolation facility designed to resemble the time-traveling box from the TV show “Doctor Who.”

IN letter about this room that the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint sent to the Jordan School District last yearStevens called on the district to review its policy and prohibit the use of isolation. Districts that have done this have seen “improved results, including fewer injuries, lower staff turnover and increased staff satisfaction,” he said.

Stevens said he never received a response.

And while he would like to see action taken at the county level, he said he ultimately hopes Utah lawmakers will take action to ban lockdowns statewide.

“I’m a big fan of the Maya Angelou quote: “Do the best you can until you know better.” Then when you know better, do better,” Stevens said. “Here in 2024, we know better than solitude. There are better things we can and should do.”

Lockdown opponents discuss the importance of raising awareness

about tactics:

Opponents of isolation say