School Employees Have Used Isolated Timeouts Illegally, State Investigations Find
In six of eight districts investigators examined, they found that workers broke the law by improperly secluding students. Parents say the investigations, which were prompted by a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois story, have not gone far enough.
Illinois Lawmakers Are Calling for a Nationwide Ban on Isolated Timeouts of Students
Four states currently ban the practice of secluding students at school. Illinois lawmakers want Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to make it 50. “This shouldn’t be controversial,” said U.S. Rep. Sean Casten.
Educators Push to Ban Seclusion of Students and Shift School Culture
Educators who testified before Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday agreed: Shutting students inside closet-sized rooms as punishment is never OK.
Inside a Training Course Where School Workers Learn How to Physically Restrain Students
I wanted to understand if school workers properly used their training in the classroom. They often did not.
Schools Aren’t Supposed to Forcibly Restrain Children as Punishment. In Illinois, It Happened Repeatedly.
As Illinois moves to restrict the use of physical restraint in schools, records show the practice was often misused, leaving students and staff injured.
How We Reported This Story
We created the first-ever database of thousands of incidents of restraint and seclusion in Illinois.
A 7-Year-Old Complained About a Scary Office at School. This Is the Video His Parents Saw — a Month Later.
“I want accountability,” the boy’s father said. The video prompted one of 21 investigations into abuse at an Illinois school that secluded students more than 1,700 times last school year.
“None of the Children at the School Are Safe”
One school. 21 abuse investigations. And the struggle to stop relying on seclusion and restraint.
Illinois Will Allow Prone, Supine Restraints on Children While Schools Learn to Phase Them Out
The changes to a ban on restraints came after some schools said they could no longer serve children.
There’s an Emergency Ban on Isolated Timeouts in Illinois Schools. What’s Next?
The state board of education said it will refer school workers to law enforcement if they are suspected of committing crimes against children as the emergency ban on seclusion in Illinois public schools goes into effect.