Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer has signed a law providing strong new restrictions on the use of so-called “seclusion rooms” in schools. Arizona joins more than 30 other states that impose rules on the restraint of students in public schools.
Continue reading...Mark Walsh reports in Education Week’s School Law Blog that the U.S. Supreme Court has denied review to a petition for certiorari in Payne v. Peninsula School District, Docket No. 11-539, a case implicating the exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Peninsula School District (PSD) was seeking review of a federal appeals court decision ruling that because the mother’s suit raised constitutional claims in addition to claims under the federal special education law, the suit did not have to exhaust administrative remedies under the IDEA.
Continue reading...In a split decision, the majority of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (CA, OR, WA, AZ, MT, ID, NV, AK, HI, GU, MP), sitting en banc (all active judges participating in consideration and decision of the case), has ruled that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s (IDEA) exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement is not jurisdictional and, instead, is an affirmative defense that must raised by a school district or is waived. The majority also ruled that IDEA’s exhaustion requirement only applies when the relief sought by a plaintiff is available under IDEA.
Continue reading...The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in Payne v. Peninsula School District, which is awaiting rehearing en banc before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (CA, OR, WA, AZ, MT, ID, NV, AK, HI, GU, MP). The suit involves a legal dispute over the exhaustion of administrative remedies requirement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the use of seclusion and restraint as behavior modification tools that form a part of a greater education strategy.
Continue reading...David and Maureen Bordelon have filed suit in a Texas federal district court on behalf of their son, who suffers from autism, against Allen Independent School District (AISD), according to the Southeast Texas Record, alleging that their son’s s special education teacher’s use of restraints and seclusion to control him was excessive.
Continue reading...The Associated Press reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Georgia State Board of Education (GBOE) has voted to prohibit the practice of placing students in solitary confinement, also known as seclusion. GBOE’s new rule also limits the use of restraint to calm misbehaving students in the classroom and, for the first time, requires schools to notify parents when their children are restrained by teachers and other school officials.
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