The Florida Districts Most Likely to Seclude Or Restrain Students

DATA

August 16, 2012 | 1:35 PM

By John O'Connor

Paris on Ponce & Le Maison Rouge / Flickr

Leon County schools were most likely to seclude students last year, while Orange and Hillsborough county schools restrained students most often.

Leon County schools led the state in the number of students put into seclusion for behavior or safety reason in 2012, according to Florida Department of Education data.

Leon County schools used seclusion almost twice as often as the next district on the list, Pinellas County schools.

Orange and Hillsborough county schools were most likely to physically restrain students — more than 900 times each during the past school year.

Seclusion and restraint are most often used on students with disabilities. School officials say the techniques are often necessary to protect students and staff.

Our colleagues at StateImpact Ohio have reported that many Ohio districts misuse seclusion and that many teachers are not trained in its use.

Florida lawmakers have considered — and rejected — a bill which would prohibit the use of seclusion and would only allow restraint when there is an “imminent risk of serious injury or death to student or others.”

Overall, the use of both seclusion and restraint declined statewide from the 2011 school year.

Check out our sortable, searchable table below.

A note about the data: Federal law requires school districts to mask data which could be used to identify individual students. In Florida, that means any district using seclusion or restraint less than 10 times in a year — including zero — is marked with an asterisk.

Filter:

District	2011 Restraint	2011 Seclusion	2012 Restraint	2012 Seclusion
Alachua	66	21	72	17
Baker	10	*	23	*
Bay	241	92	138	88
Bradford	11	*	14	*
Brevard	514	20	386	*
Broward	462	86	239	93
Calhoun	*	*	*	*
Charlotte	263	25	242	69
Citrus	27	*	25	*
Clay	62	35	155	78
Columbia	69	*	44	*
Dade	165	26	207	13
DeSoto	*	*	*	*
Dixie	*	*	*	*
Duval	291	195	636	307
Escambia	126	91	116	107
Flagler	21	*	14	*
Franklin	*	*	*	*
Gadsden	*	*	*	*
Gilchrist	*	*	*	*
Glades	*	*	*	*
Gulf	*	*	*	*
Hamilton	*	*	*	*
Hardee	*	*	15	*
Hendry	*	*	*	*
Hernando	24	*	24	*
Highlands	24	13	31	*
Hillsborough	1,052	987	913	366
Holmes	*	*	*	*
Indian River	57	*	88	*
Jackson	153	50	45	18
Jefferson	*	*	*	*
Lafayette	*	*	*	*
Lake	352	22	395	29
Lee	154	*	134	*
Leon	80	310	577	1,107
Levy	*	*	13	*
Liberty	11	19	45	38
Madison	22	*	10	*
Manatee	350	212	443	189
Marion	242	229	472	427
Martin	87	37	33	21
Monroe	58	10	*	*
Nassau	*	*	10	*
Okaloosa	65	85	49	20
Okeechobee	30	*	15	*
Orange	2,394	499	952	*
Osceola	112	*	84	16
Palm Beach	328	*	291	*
Pasco	312	545	252	377
Pinellas	521	661	746	587
Polk	136	68	72	72
Putnam	*	*	24	16
St. Johns	530	*	440	16
St. Lucie	133	28	286	66
Santa Rosa	75	31	24	*
Sarasota	139	*	107	*
Seminole	408	213	474	69
Sumter	*	*	*	*
Suwannee	*	*	*	*
Taylor	27	*	28	*
Union	*	*	*	*
Volusia	265	*	268	*
Wakulla	*	*	*	*
Walton	16	*	*	*
Washington	*	*	*	*
FSDB	*	*	*	*
Dozier	*	*	*	*
FAU Lab	41	*	10	*
FSU Lab	*	*	*	*
FAMU Lab	*	*	*	*
UF Lab	*	*	*	*
State	10,683	4,637	9,751	4,245

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Comments

Harley2010

Great article! Thank you for getting this abuse of our children out in the open. These outdated practices that DO NOT WORK AND CAUSE HARM to our children have been going on way too long and must stop.
Steve

The size of these statistics is disturbing, the Distribution is ALARMING. How can TINY Leon County have more than twice the number of seclusion’s as the 4 largest Districts combined!

Tallahassee, we have a problem.
Alan Levine

It is time to put an end to these barbaric practices. We are reluctant to put convicted murderers in solitary confinement (seclusion) but have no difficulty doing to our kids.
Teresa Badillo

Do we have to wait until we have another child HANGS HIM OR HERSELF…..what’s it’s going to take
http://www.facebook.com/myrahale82 Myra Hale

Wow! This world is full of hate! I would say homeschool is the best option but, how are you suppose to survive with no job! God help us all!!
Systemic Advocate

I was on a conference call several years ago with the Fl Dept. of Education. There were advocates, organizations, principals, school superintendents etc…. A principal from Leon county had the nerve to tell the Fl. Dept. of Education to stay out of their business and stop trying to tell them how to run their schools. It is very obvious why they are in first place. They clearly have no respect for anyone especially children. When is someone going to stop this abuse? How many more children need to die?

Harley2010

Did you leave your comment on the article in the comments section? If not, would you please add?
Phyllis
—– Original Message —–
From: Disqus
To: cvm514@bellsouth.net
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2012 9:59 PM
Subject: [stateimpactfl] Re: The Florida Districts Most Likely to Seclude Or Restrain Students

Systemic Advocate

Do not let them tell you they only do it when there is imminent danger. It just isnt true they use restraint and seclusion as first response. This is what restraint & seclusion looks like.
“America’s Forgotten Children” Restraint & Seclusion Awareness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTfOnPLnSM
Enough_is_enough

Shame on you Florida lawmakers for legally allowing schools to treat these children worse than animals. How many deaths will it take for you not to look the other way?
StopTheAbuse

Your guidance isnt working we need LAWS and people need to be held ACCOUNTABLE!!!
**********************************************************
Feds To Offer Schools Guidance On Restraint, Seclusion

By Michelle Diament
May 19, 2011
http://www.disabili tyscoop.com/ 2011/05/19/ feds-guidance- restraint/ 13123/

The U.S. Department Of Education plans to offer school districts guidance on restraint and seclusion before the next school year begins, officials said Thursday, even as Congressional efforts on the issue continue to appear stalled.
Alexa Posny, the Education Department’s top special education official, told a federal autismadvisory committee Thursday morning that her agency will issue guidance to schools this fall around the same time it releases the first ever national data on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.
The guidance, Posny said, will be an effort to advise schools on how to handle an issue which is currently loosely regulated through a patchwork of inconsistent state and local rules.
“There are no federal regulations that exist, so it makes it very hard for us at the Department of Education to go out and say you can and can’t do this,” Posny told the safety subcommittee of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. “We have no role in enforcement at this point.” (Read all of Disability Scoop’s coverage of restraint and seclusion >>) However, through the forthcoming guidance, Posny said the Education Department will stress that every effort should be made to avoid restraint and seclusion by using positive behavior supports and other techniques. And, schools will be encouraged to have clear policies surrounding the dignified and appropriate use of restraint and seclusion in truly dangerous situations.
Education Department efforts to address restraint and seclusion date back to a 2009 advocacy group report documenting abusive and even deadly uses of the practices.
Last year, the House of Representatives passed legislation to regulate restraint and seclusion in schools, but the bill never came up for consideration in the Senate. Similar legislation was introduced again in the House in April, but has not yet been considered.
John

It’s hard to believe that school districts continue to get away with restraint and seclusion when they themselves know that it doesn’t work and is physically and mentally harmful to children.

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