PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union Inc. and attorneys for R.I. Legal Services on June 2 filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice against the West Warwick and North Kingstown school districts for allegedly restraining young children with developmental disabilities in an unlawful and excessive manner.
Two children attended Davisville Academy in North Kingstown and two children attended Greenbush Elementary School, the ACLU said. The ACLU says the suit is on behalf of four families and, according to the complaint, the children have suffered physical injury and mental health trauma as a result of the alleged restraining at the schools. The families are not identified for privacy reasons, the ACLU said.
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The complaint alleges that one student experienced 45 different hands-on intervention incidents, was bruised more than once and urinated on himself due to allegedly being denied the opportunity to use the bathroom. The ACLU’s complaint also alleges that another child was restrained at least 14 times, sometimes for more than a half hour at a time. The child allegedly became desperate to where he ran away from school more than 40 times during the year. A third such child allegedly was restrained 25 times and once escaped out of a school window and ran from school, the ACLU says.
The ACLU and the attorneys from RILS allege the schools violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. They are seeking multiple remedies from the USDOJ, including compensatory education and mental health counseling, revising school procedures and eliminating the use of restraint as punishment.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
