"We're made well aware of the fact that teachers and schools need supports and they need training."
Sen. Danté Bartolomeo
Public schools across Connecticut restrain or seclude students over 30,000 times a year. Some kids are restrained hundreds of times annually, and some are secluded for minor behavior problems, according to an investigation by the Office of the Child Advocate.
But that figure only includes students with disabilities. The state keeps no data on how many times general education students are isolated or restrained.
That might change with pending legislation. The House and Senate have both passed a bill that would track incidents that happen to all students, regardless of their educational status.
Sen. Danté Bartolomeo chairs the Children's Committee, and she says the ultimate goal would be to eliminate the use of restraint and seclusion altogether.
“As we attempt to do that right now, we're made well aware of the fact that teachers and schools need supports and they need training," Bartolomeo said.
Educators have reported that there is little training on how to restrain or seclude students, and have pointed to positive behavior supports and social and emotional learning as the key to prevention.
The law would require the State Department of Education to roll out a three-year training program to show educators how to properly restrain kids, which, under the proposed law, would be limited to emergency situations.
For Bartolomeo, the key is focusing on prevention.
"As we have them trained on prevention techniques, we can get to the point where this is not commonplace," she said.
The bill now heads to the governor's office for consideration.
