The expose published by ProPublic and the Chicago Tribune about the isolation of students with disabilities in locked “quiet rooms” got immediate response from the Governor and the State Board of Education in Illinois.
This is known as seclusion.
The governor said he will introduce legislation to end and prohibit the barbaric practice.
The Illinois State Board of Education announced Wednesday that it will take emergency action to end the seclusion of children alone behind locked doors at schools, saying the practice has been “misused and overused to a shocking extent.”
Responding to a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois investigation published a day earlier, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the isolation of children in the state “appalling” and said he directed the education agency to make emergency rules for schools. He will then work with legislators to make the rules into law, he said.
The rules would not totally ban the use of timeout rooms but would end isolation. The state board said children would be put in timeout only if a “trained adult” is in the room and the door is unlocked. Timeouts also must be used only for therapeutic reasons or to protect the safety of students and staff, the board said.
The board also said it will begin collecting data on all instances of timeout and physical restraint in Illinois schools and will investigate “known cases of isolated seclusion to take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.” State officials had not previously monitored these practices.
H/T to Laura Chapman for alerting me to this important news.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Since 1968, The US Office of Civil Rights has assembled data in Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), biennially, “from public local educational agencies (LEA) and schools, including juvenile justice facilities, charter schools, alternative schools, and schools serving only students with disabilities. The data in Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) reports, available on line, show disaggregated data (race, color, national origin, sex, and disability) for every district that receives federal funds.
Here are the most recent categories for reporting on DISCIPLINE other categories (some questionable in my opinion) can be seen at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/2017-18-crdc-data-elements.pdf
DISCIPLINE
• Students (K-12) who received one or more in-school suspension:
–Number of students without disabilities who received one or more in-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, EL);
–Number of students with disabilities who received one or more in-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
• Students who received one out-of-school suspension:
–Number of preschool students who received one out-of-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, EL);
–Number of K-12 students without disabilities who received one out-of-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, EL); and
–Number of K-12 students with disabilities who received one out-of-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
• Students who received more than one out-of-school suspension:
–Number of preschool students who received more than one out-of-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, EL);
–Number of K-12 students without disabilities who received more than one out-of-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, EL); and
–Number of K-12 students with disabilities who received more than one out-of-school suspension (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
• Number of preschool students who were expelled (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, EL).
–Students (K-12) who were expelled (with educational services; without educational services; because of zero-tolerance policies):
–Number of students without disabilities who were expelled (with educational services; without educational services; because of zero-tolerance policies) (disaggregated by race, sex, EL);
–Number of students with disabilities who were expelled (with educational services; without educational services; because of zero-tolerance policies) (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
• Students (K-12) who were transferred for disciplinary reasons to alternative school
–Number of students without disabilities who were transferred for disciplinary reasons to alternative school (disaggregated by race, sex, EL);
–Number of students with disabilities who were transferred for disciplinary reasons to alternative school (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
• Students (K-12) who were referred to law enforcement agency or official:
–Number of students without disabilities who were referred to law enforcement agency or official (disaggregated by race, sex, EL); and
— Number of students with disabilities who were referred to law enforcement agency or official (disaggregated by race, sex, EL)
Number of students with disabilities who were referred to law enforcement agency or official (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
• Students (K-12) who were arrested for school-related activity:
–Number of students without disabilities who were arrested for school-related activity (disaggregated by race, sex, EL); and
— Number of students with disabilities who were arrested for school-related activity (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
Students who received corporal punishment:
–Number of preschool students (ages 3-5 years) who received corporal punishment (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, EL); 2
–Number of K-12 students without disabilities who received corporal punishment (disaggregated by race, sex, EL); and
–Number of K-12 students with disabilities who received corporal punishment (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL).
–Number of instances of corporal punishment that preschool students received (disaggregated by all preschool students, preschool students with disabilities-IDEA).
–Number of instances of corporal punishment that K-12 students received (disaggregated by students without disabilities, students with disabilities).
Students who received out-of-school suspensions
-Number of instances of out-of-school suspensions that preschool students received (disaggregated by all preschool students, preschool students with disabilities-IDEA).
–Number of instances of out-of-school suspensions that K-12 students received (disaggregated by students without disabilities, students with disabilities-IDEA, students with disabilities-504 only).
• Number of school days missed by K-12 students who received out-of-school suspensions (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, disability-504 only, EL).
OFFENSES Number of documented incidents that occurred at the school of:
• Robbery with a weapon; –Robbery with a fire arm or explosive device; –Robbery without a weapon;
• Physical attack or fight with a weapon;–Physical attack or fight with a firearm or explosive device; –Physical attack or fight without a weapon; –Threat of physical attack with a weapon;–Threat of physical attack with a firearm or explosive device; –Threat of physical attack without a weapon;
• Rape or attempted rape;–Sexual assault (other than rape);
• Possession of a firearm or explosive device;
• Whether any of the school’s students, faculty, or staff died as a result of a homicide committed at the school.
• Whether there has been at least one incident at the school that involved a shooting (regardless of whether anyone was hurt).
HARASSMENT AND BULLYING
–Number of reported allegations of harassment or bullying of K-12 students on the basis of: sex; race, color, or national origin; disability; sexual orientation; religion.
–Number of K-12 students reported as harassed or bullied on the basis of: sex; race, color, or national origin; disability (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, disability-504 only, EL).
–Number of K-12 students disciplined for engaging in harassment or bullying on the basis of: sex; race, color, or national origin; disability (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-IDEA, disability- 504 only, EL).
–Existence of harassment or bullying policies (LEA).
RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION
• Students (K-12) subjected to mechanical restraint:
–Number of non-IDEA students subjected to mechanical restraint (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL); and
–Number of students with disabilities (IDEA) subjected to mechanical restraint (disaggregated by race, sex, EL).
• Students (K-12) subjected to physical restraint:
— Number of non-IDEA students subjected to physical restraint (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL); and
–Number of students with disabilities (IDEA) subjected to physical restraint (disaggregated by race, sex, EL). • Students (K-12) subjected to seclusion:
–Number of non-IDEA students subjected to seclusion (disaggregated by race, sex, disability-504 only, EL); and
–Number of students with disabilities (IDEA) subjected to seclusion (disaggregated by race, sex, EL).
• Number of instances of mechanical restraint, physical restraint, seclusion (disaggregated by students without disabilities, students with disabilities-IDEA, students with disabilities-504 only).
I think the granularity of information requested is one reason why reporting is shoddy. The categories also speak to the fact that life in some schools can be hazardous for staffas well as students.
Incidentally, here is a report on problems in New Mexico schools. https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2019/10/12/restraint-and-seclusion-overused-under-reported-nm-schools-investigation-shows/3948114002/
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Is there an issue…in any way…that the so called public schools commonly called charters are not affected by this report? The wonderfulness of charters has always been that they are free from….many things in the way they run their schools.
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This was just posted on the Chicago Tribune.
Chicago Tribune
NOVEMBER 24, 2019
CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM
DAYWATCH
This special edition of Daywatch is a collaboration between the Tribune’s Jennifer Smith Richards and ProPublica Illinois’ Jodi S. Cohen and Lakeidra Chavis. Get investigations like this with ProPublica’s weekly newsletter.
Last week, the Tribune published an investigation in collaboration with ProPublica Illinois about the use — and misuse — of seclusion rooms that children are shut inside, alone, in public schools across Illinois. It is running today, in the Sunday print edition.
We had worked on the story for nearly a year. Day after day, night after night, we read the details of more than 20,000 incidents of “isolated timeout” and entered them by hand into a database we created. We did the same for physical restraint, when staff members put their hands on a child; we’ll publish that story in the next few weeks.
Many of the isolated timeout incident reports we read — some 50,000 pages — included what happened to children in seclusion, often in their own words as school employees kept moment-by-moment logs. The children, most of them with disabilities, begged to be let out, cried for their parents, expressed despair. We included their quotes throughout our story. We thought it was crucial that their voices be heard.
And then, the day after the investigation published, Illinois officials announced an immediate ban on secluding students alone, in locked rooms. Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the practice “appalling” and said: “Isolated seclusion will end now; it traumatizes children, does lasting damage to the most vulnerable and violates the most deeply held values of my administration and the State of Illinois.”
State schools Superintendent Carmen Ayala said that isolated timeout and physical restraint had been “misused and overused to a shocking extent.” “The data and stories from students and parents are appalling, inexcusable and deeply saddening,” she said.
The emergency rules, filed Wednesday, don’t ban the use of timeout rooms entirely but say that a trained adult must be in the room with the child and the door can’t be locked. If a timeout with an adult is used, it must be only for therapeutic reasons or to protect the safety of students and staff. Our investigation found that it was often being used illegally — as punishment, to force compliance or to contain disruptive students.
The new rules also require school districts to provide data to the Illinois State Board of Education on all instances of timeout and restraint dating back three school years. ISBE, which previously had not monitored seclusion or restraint, is now empowered to investigate schools’ use of these practices and take “appropriate disciplinary and corrective action.”
Then, on Thursday, Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, filed legislation that would completely ban isolated timeout in Illinois. A former special education teacher, he wrote an emotional blog post about his own experience as a child in school seclusion rooms, saying that, at 45, he still has “nightmares because of this treatment.”
That’s a lot of swift action.
Throughout the past year, we met with families all around the state whose children spent time in seclusion. These families weren’t seeking attention. Frankly, they were shocked that anyone cared. They inevitably asked what we thought or hoped would happen by writing about seclusion.
We told them we didn’t know. We would write the stories and maybe someone would listen.
What happened was that readers of the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois, including state officials with the power to act, listened to the children’s voices and their words.
“Why? Why are you doing this to me?”— a student at Bridges Learning Center, a school near Centralia.
“Please, please, please open the door. Please, I’ll be good. Open the door and I’ll be quiet.”— an elementary student in Mattoon.
“I’m crying alone!”— an elementary student at Kansas Treatment and Learning Center in Kansas, Illinois
Many readers have told us they struggled to hold back tears as they read the words of these children. Some told us they had to put the story down for a while, regain composure and return to it later.
We understand.
When reading their words and hearing their voices over the past year, we, too, were moved. We were disturbed. We cried.
Illinois’ current law mandated that school employees document seclusion incidents, but there was no requirement that anyone read them. The state didn’t collect data to know how often it was being used.
That’s why we took this on. Isn’t it better to know?
As Ayala noted, it was the data we collected and analyzed, combined with the children’s voices, that led to the state’s quick action.
We hope you will read the story, too, and let us know what you think. You can find it online at chicagotribune.com/secluded. Thank you to everyone who has already reached out. You can contact us at seclusion@propublica.org.
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At one time my district tried to set up a time-out room for EH students. It lasted for about two weeks. The principal quickly ended because it was too punitive. Real educators care about students.
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Of course, I agree this is a good outcome, with respect to those cases cited by the Tribune & Pro-Publica IL, situations that should never, ever have occurred & should never occur again.
However–& I fully expect to get slammed for this–as a sped. teacher (L.D. Resource, Early Childhood Sped. & Primary Developmentally Disabled S.C. Teacher), there are times & places/spaces where it is of benefit to the student her/himself, as well as to the other students, esp. in a general ed. classroom, & esp. when a teachers does not have an aide, an in-room phone (to call for help), or even a buzzer to the office
(hopefully, all schools now have at least the last). Some sp.ed. classrooms have a small room–w/in the larger classroom (&, no, it is not a closet)–where a student may be sent for a time out. The purpose of the room attachment would be for the teacher to check on the student to see if he/she was okay. Oftentimes, a student would be sent to time out to calm down if angered, or be used as a place for a student to cry, to let it out. The teacher &/or aide–if there was one assigned (I believe the rule was that a class could be up to 10 before a teacher was assigned an aide–pretty big sp.ed. class, eh?)–continuously checked on the student, & most often attained good result for everyone concerned.
On Page 1 of yesterday’s Chicago Tribune, there’s the article “Teachers Grapple w/Ban on Rooms: Isolated timeouts are under fire from the state. What’s next?” Concerns were voiced by parents, as well, who stated that they’d had to pick their children up from schools because the schools could not keep them in the classroom.
Part of the problem, as well, lies with the program R.T.I., or Response to Intervention. It is a nightmare record-keeping system that has become a tool (or the tool–in IL, we were able to take the word “must” out–changing it to “may” {allowing for other evals., such as a psychological} for RTI usage in evaluating a student for sped. services) for, I would say, keeping students from receiving much-needed services, thus saving districts money, as well as keeping the sped. #s low so that the sped. subgroup wouldn’t be eligible for inclusion in a district’s standardized testing results (generally lowering a district’s passing or exceeding %age, causing a school to be rated “at risk” or lower).
If anyone can provide a link to Saturday’s follow-up article, please do. It’s a very important
read.
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