CT: Restraint/seclusion used on SPED students over 46,000 times in schools in 2023-24

Mar 23, 2025, New Canaan Advertiser: 'Shocked by these figures': Restraint and seclusion increased in CT schools last year

https://www.ncadvertiser.com/news/education/article/restraint-and-seclusion-connecticut-data-20233660.php 

The use of restraint and seclusion in Connecticut schools has increased in recent years, new state data shows.

According to the data, released this week, more than 4,000 special education students in Connecticut were physically restrained or secluded in locked rooms more than 46,000 times during the 2023-24 school year. That total represented a 4% increase from the prior year and a 19% increase from the year before that.

Schools reported 417 injuries as a result of restraint and seclusion in 2023-24, 18 of which required medical attention beyond basic first aid.

Andy Feinstein, an attorney with the nonprofit group Special Education Equity for Kids, said he was genuinely "shocked" by the new data.

"We thought that things were moving in the right direction, but these (figures) clearly indicate exactly the opposite," he said. "Restraint and seclusion is getting worse."

Restraint and seclusion incidents in Connecticut schools decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part due to some districts' reliance on remote learning, and remained well below pre-pandemic levels when full in-person school resumed in 2021-22. Data released this week, however, shows incidents increased in 2022-23, then again in 2023-24.

Restraint and seclusion in CT schools

Physical interventions decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic but have now increased three straight years.

Connecticut schools reported 41,425 restraint and seclusion incidents in 2017-18, 58,932 in 2018-19, 41,887 in 2019-20, 23,511 in 2020-21, 38,758 in 2021-22, 44,407 in 2022-23 and 46,186 in 2023-24.

Restraints include both traditional restraints and forced escort restraints.

The prevalence of restraint and seclusion in Connecticut schools has drawn growing protest from parents and advocates who consider the practices dangerous and potentially traumatic for young students. They note that some districts in Connecticut and elsewhere have found success with gentler alternative approaches and urge other schools to follow suit.

A CT Insider review, as part of a nationwide Hearst Newspapers 2023 investigation, found that there are often concerns from advocates that while the state collects data on restraint and seclusion usage, the data is rarely used to monitor for problems at the local level or hold schools accountable for potential excessive use of interventions.

School officials and teachers unions who defend restraint and seclusion say physical interventions are sometimes necessary for maintaining safe classrooms. Under state law, restraint and seclusion are permissible only in emergency situations.

A spokesperson for the state's education department said Friday the agency continues to closely monitor restraint and seclusion data and provide schools with training and other resources.

State statistics show restraint and seclusion are most common for elementary school students, as well as those with autism and other developmental disabilities. Black and Hispanic students are more likely to be restrained or secluded than white and Asian students, the data shows, and boys are more likely to be restrained or secluded than girls.

More than 1,000 students were restrained or secluded more than 10 times during the 2023-24 school year, while about 200 were restrained or secluded more than 50 times. More than half of students who were restrained or secluded during the 2022-23 school year were restrained or secluded again in 2023-24. . . .

Sarah Eagan, executive director of the Center for Children's Advocacy, said the new data suggests "a little bit of complacency" around restraint and seclusion in Connecticut... 

SEEK is urging lawmakers to adopt several reforms related to restraint and seclusion during the current legislative session, including a requirement that a trained mental health professional be present during any seclusion, a requirement that parents be notified of any restraint or seclusion and the creation of medical exemptions from restraint and seclusion for students with certain disabilities….

In 2023, the legislature considered a bill that would have entirely banned seclusion in Connecticut's schools, but lawmakers instead referred the issue to a special education task force, which failed to find consensus on possible reforms.

Feinstein said he still hopes the legislature will eventually restrict, if not altogether eliminate, seclusion in schools.

"To throw a kid in a closet and let him cry himself until he stops crying is inhumane, immoral, ineffective," he said. "There's just no justification for that."

Connecticut's education department is required by law to record and report restraint and seclusion data each year, as part of an annual report. The agency failed to issue a report in 2024, instead releasing data for both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years this week.

The spokesperson said Friday the delay owed to the implementation of a new reporting system but that the department "fully expects future reports to be released in a more timely manner, as they have been in prior years."