From U.S.News & World Report [Is this a problem in Vermont??]: Students Suffer Abusive Restraint, GAO Says
By Jessica Calefati
Posted July 7, 2009
Cindy Kilmer will never forget the look of that chair. Worn, leather straps crisscrossed over its high-back, wooden structure—one strap to hold the head and additional straps to restrain the chest, waist, knees, ankles, and wrists. It resembled an electric chair, Kilmer says. The chair is designed to support someone who cannot sit up on his own, but special education teachers at one West Virginia elementary school used it to restrain Kilmer’s then 4-year-old daughter, Christy, who has cerebral palsy and autism, for being “uncooperative,” according to the findings of an investigation conducted by the Government Accountability Office. Kilmer says she saw the chair in her daughter’s classroom while picking her up from school….
The Government Accountability Office found that many special education teachers use potentially dangerous restraint practices to control minor student misbehaviors such as speaking out of turn or refusing to remain seated. According to a GAO report released in May, investigators identified hundreds of allegations of abuse that resulted in emotional trauma, physical injury, and even death among special education students across the country. They also found that many of the allegedly abusive teachers are still working in the classroom—at least one of the three teachers responsible for restraining Christy was still teaching at her former school….
www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/07/07/students-suffer-abusive-restraint-gao-says.html