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Sixteen-Year-Old Special-Needs Student Dies From Restraint

On April 18, 2012, Corey Foster, a sixteen-year-old boy at a residential school in Yonkers, New York, was playing basketball in the school’s gym. Some staff members also began playing basketball. They asked him to leave the court.

A special needs student who died from restraint at school.

Corey became agitated and refused to leave; in response, four staff members then physically restrained Corey on the gym floor. While being restrained, Corey went into cardiac arrest and died.


Unfortunately, Corey’s story is not unique: many children have been injured, traumatized, and even died because of the use of seclusion and restraint in school.


Personal stories, grassroots advocacy, and media coverage have drawn our attention to a concerning reality in America’s schools: the seclusion and restraint of students, in particular students with disabilities. As methods of discipline, seclusion is the practice of isolating a student alone where they are unable to leave, and restraint is the immobilization of a student’s body to prevent movement. Although state legislatures and departments of education have made considerable progress on the issue of seclusion and restraint over the past decade, Congress should act to pass legislation on the issue to ensure baseline protections are provided to all students across the country.


Read the full story HERE.


Photo Credit: ABC News

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