Thread by @Jodiscohen

1/ Illinois lawmakers heard three hours of testimony this week about seclusion and restraint in schools. It was emotional and, some said, long overdue. I want to share some quotes from the hearing that reflect the discussion. propublica.org/article/illino…

2/ @repjcarroll shared a personal story of his own traumatic experience with seclusion as a child. “It was horrible that we treat children with special needs the same way we treat our most hardened criminals,” he said.

@repjcarroll 3/ For context, here’s the story that sparked the hearing and the proposed state Senate and House bills to ban seclusion. It was reported, over a year, by me, @jsmithrichards and @lakeidrachavis, with help from too many others to fit in a tweet.
features.propublica.org/illinois-seclu…

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis 4/ The president of @equip4equality offered lawmakers her view on what led to the misuse and overuse of seclusion and restraint: “Allowing schools to self-police themselves on these issues has led to the crisis we face today.”

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality 5/ @kylehillman of @NASW urged @ILSenDems and others to ban seclusion: “If a single mother, particularly of color, was locking their child in a closet, standing outside while the child was screaming, defecating itself repeatedly, this body would be asking for criminal charges.”

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems 6/ Lawmakers were angry the state had not monitored the interventions, though federal data showed frequent use here: “You mean to tell me we’ve known this for the last four or five years and we haven’t done anything about it? Where is the oversight, right?” — @StateRepCrespo

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo 7/ Indeed, no state agency had comprehensively looked at the issue. Over a year of reporting, we created a database of 35,000 incidents from September 2017 through early December 2018. Most of these records had gone unread until we got them from more than 100 school districts.

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo 8/ In the past, @ISBEnews did not have a mandate to monitor schools’ use of seclusion/restraint. After our investigation, private and public schools were required to submit data dating back three years. They now have to report any incident to ISBE w/in 48 hours.

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews 9/ @ILschoolboards assistant general counsel questioned how the data will be used: “There is confusion among schools about what will happen with the data that was collected.” ISBE said it will hold schools and individual employees accountable if there’s wrongdoing.

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews @ILschoolboards 10/ One district superintendent who spoke at the hearing, from @NSSEO_org, urged a “balanced approach” as lawmakers decide whether to ban seclusion. That district, with about 425 students, secluded and restrained students more than 3,000 times in the period we analyzed.

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews @ILschoolboards @NSSEO_org 11/ @ilprincipals said it was concerned sensory rooms and other spaces where children can calm themselves would be outlawed. That is not what the proposals say. The group agreed with others that “proper training, adequate resources and oversight is necessary.”

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews @ILschoolboards @NSSEO_org @ilprincipals 12/ New rules proposed by ISBE require 8 hours of annual training for staff members, including on de-escalation and trauma-informed care. @DanJMontgomery, president of @iftaft, called that “wholly insufficient.”

We wrote about training: propublica.org/article/illino…

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews @ILschoolboards @NSSEO_org @ilprincipals @DanJMontgomery @iftaft 13/ A parent whose daughter has autism came to the hearing and told lawmakers: “You need to listen to the parents. … As parents, we live it every day,” said the mother, an advocate with Latinas United in Love for Autism. “... We are here to help you.”

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews @ILschoolboards @NSSEO_org @ilprincipals @DanJMontgomery @iftaft 14/ A 20-year-old asked to speak. He then demonstrated how he was restrained against a wall, with his feet in the air, when he went to a suburban school for students with special needs. Here is what we learned about physical restraint in Illinois schools:
propublica.org/article/illino…

@repjcarroll @jsmithrichards @lakeidrachavis @equip4equality @kylehillman @nasw @ILSenDems @StateRepCrespo @ISBEnews @ILschoolboards @NSSEO_org @ilprincipals @DanJMontgomery @iftaft 15/ Finally, lawmakers say there will be more hearings. We will keep reporting. Stay in touch with us via our weekly newsletter: go.propublica.org/ppil-social And let us know what is happening in your schools. Email us at [e-mail]