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Monroe Township, NJ: "Padded room" use for disruptive students questioned

Nov 14, 2018, NJ.com: Padded room for timeouts at school is like 'a jail.' District is rethinking policy https://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2018/11/use_of_padded_jail_room_at_nj_school_to_be_reviewe.html A parent calls the timeout space at his son's South Jersey school "solitary confinement." A Monroe Township School District official says the special room is designed to protect special needs students from hurting themselves or others when they act out and allow them to have a place to retreat when they feel overwhelmed. Concerns about the padded "timeout" or "seclusion" room are now going to be reviewed by the district board of education in the Gloucester County community. "Our son came home one day and said he was put in a room for time out and we asked him to describe the room," Scott Reiss recounted Wednesday. "He said it was a little room. 'It's like a jail,' he said." … Their son -- NJ Advance Media is not naming him -- has ADHD and is on the autism spectrum, Reiss said. … Perry says the space is designed as an area where students can regain their composure if they experience problems with anxiety or behavioral issues, Perry said. "This area is utilized in conjunction with special education related services and interventions, involving behavioral disabilities in which students may become violent toward other students and staff and/or causing harm to themselves," according to the superintendent. "Also, other students, who are classified, utilize this space as a means of safety when they feel emotionally overwhelmed. … "When a child is in there they are not locked in or closed in," Perry said. "There is an adult with them." …

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