Thousands of times a year in Michigan schools, students who are considered a potential danger to themselves and others — many of them children with disabilities — are physically restrained or put in seclusion. This happens despite an almost 10-year-old law aimed at reducing instances where students are secluded or restrained. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Current state policy makes clear schools should only consider physically restraining a student or confining them to a room away from others in emergency situations where a student is at risk of harming themselves or others. But critics say schools still seclude and restrain students too often and the state should make more clear what actually constitutes an emergency.
Among the most vocal groups is Michigan Advocates to End Seclusion & Restraint (EndSaR). It acknowledges there are times when students are in crisis but says schools should try to avoid crises in the first place. It also wants to ensure seclusion is not used for discipline.
“We’re a decade into implementation, and what we’ve seen demonstrated is that additional safeguards are necessary to fully protect our students and staff,” said EndSaR chair Cassie Atallah. “Thousands of students continue to experience seclusion and restraint each year, and we believe that Michigan can do better.”
Michigan schools secluded or restrained students nearly 18,000 times during the 2024-2025 school year, down from the previous two school years. The vast majority of these instances involved students with disabilities.
Families of students with disabilities — along with advocates who say they were secluded as children — say Michigan must acknowledge the trauma children and staff experience. They’ve found a partner in State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who says she plans to introduce a bill this fall that would prohibit seclusion, require districts to create reduction plans if the state determines that they excessively restrain students and require districts to train staff on how trauma affects student learning.
“It’s alarming because our kids are obviously very vulnerable, and when we’re talking about kids with disabilities, they’re even more vulnerable,” Chang told Bridge Michigan. “We need to make sure the adults in our school settings are doing things appropriately.”
Under Chang’s draft bill, seclusions would be prohibited, and restraint would only be allowed in “emergency situations and only if essential to prevent imminent serious bodily harm to the pupil or another individual.” If a district uses restraint excessively, it would be required to report to the state how it will reduce restraints. The Michigan Department of Education would determine what’s considered excessive.
“The point of this bill is not just to take seclusion and restraint away. It’s to open up that space and bring in healthier, more effective approaches. And without that second part, this doesn’t have the effect that we’re hoping it’ll have,” said Atallah.
“We recognize that emergency seclusion (and) restraint has to be decreased,” said Kirsten Myers, assistant superintendent of student services for Kent Intermediate School District and past president of the Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education. Districts need to better define what an emergency is, she said, “but to eliminate one practice or the other altogether in a moment of significant crisis is incredibly concerning for myself as an educator.”
Under the proposal, districts would be required to train staff who may be called upon in emergency situations on how trauma affects learning and the body. But Myers said school personnel in Kent and other districts already have access to training that includes neuroscience.