False Protectors: A Policy Analysis of the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

• In Event: Punitive Practices in Education: Correlates of School Discipline

Abstract

Racial disparities in suspension and expulsion and their contribution to inequity in the criminal legal system are widely recognized. Less attention, however, has been paid to the disparate use of restraint and seclusion. For example, while Black disabled children make up 2.8% of the student population, they experienced 33% of all mechanical restraints in the 2020-21 school year. The federal government has standards for the use of restraint and seclusion that should mitigate disparities, but these standards are not mandatory and are not adhered to in many states and districts. Using disability critical race theory (DisCrit) as a framework, this study analyzes the restraint and seclusion policies of the public school districts with the 100 highest and 100 lowest rates of restraint and seclusion to understand how they accord with the federal standards, the laws and policies of their respective state or territory, and the best practices from the literature on restraint and seclusion. These policies will also be examined to identify how they reflect DisCrit concepts. Implications of the differences across the policies of districts with high and low restraint and seclusion rates will be discussed.

Authors

• Kristin Jeniece Lurie, University of Cincinnati

• Maria Armienta Ojeda, University of Cincinnati