Parents of students with disabilities are urging the Kansas Board of Education to update the regulations regarding restraining students in school. Parents told the board last week that in some cases improperly restraining students could lead to injury or even death. Jawanda Mast, from Olathe, says her daughter with Down Syndrome was restrained in a situation where she believes it wasn’t warranted. It didn’t cause any injury, but Mast says she wasn’t told it had happened, and only found out later. She’d like stronger regulations on reporting.
Rocky Nichols is with the Disability Rights Center of Kansas. He says new regulations on restraint took effect earlier this year in Kansas. But he says they’d like more rules allowing state officials to enforce the regulations. They also want more training for school workers, so they’ll know when it’s appropriate to restrain students.
Nichols says he hopes the board will take action in the coming months.