St. Louis, MO — The U.S. Justice Department has found that the Special School District of St. Louis violated federal law by routinely subjecting students with disabilities to seclusion and restraint.
After a 21-month investigation, the Department concluded that the District’s practices discriminate against students with disabilities by using ineffective seclusion methods and unjustified restraints instead of providing appropriate educational supports.
During the two-year period studied, more than 300 students were secluded nearly 4,000 times, and almost 150 students were restrained 777 times. At one small school, every student was secluded or restrained at least once, with one student spending 101 hours—roughly 17 school days—in seclusion in a single year.
The Justice Department said many incidents involved minor misbehavior, such as knocking over a teacher’s coffee, refusing class, or being “disrespectful,” rather than emergency situations that posed safety threats. Officials warned that such practices put students at serious risk of physical and mental harm.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said, “Parents should not have to worry that their children could be subjected to solitary confinement and dangerous restraint techniques at school because of their disabilities.”
The Department has proposed a settlement agreement with the District to implement reforms and remedy the violations, emphasizing that restraint and seclusion should be used only in emergencies, as allowed under Missouri law.
