麻豆精品

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 麻豆精品 Newsletter

In Florida鈥檚 public school system, school personnel can use handcuffs, zip-ties, straightjackets or other devices on students who are acting out or misbehaving in a way that poses a threat to themselves or others.

But legislation filed in the 2022 legislative session would prohibit school personnel from using those methods 鈥� potentially sparing students, especially those with disabilities, from a traumatic experience.

Only school resource officers, school safety officers, school guardians, or school security guards would still be able to use these restraints on students in grades 6 through 12 鈥� but not younger children.

鈥淭he younger the child, the smaller they are,鈥� said Rep. Rene Plasencia, the sponsor of HB 235.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to use the right, the appropriate methods of making sure they don鈥檛 harm anyone else or harm themselves. As a child gets larger it becomes a little more challenging.鈥�

Plasencia builds off previous legislative efforts to limit how teachers and other school personnel handle students who might be acting out in a dangerous manner.

鈥淲e want to make sure that no parent sends their child to school and the child comes home with bruises, or the child comes home with some kind of stress that could have been avoided,鈥� Plasencia said聽Thursday at a House education subcommittee meeting.

The previous legislation dealing with this topic, which was sponsored by former Rep. Bobby DuBose, added language into Florida law that limited the use of restraints on students.

Under current Florida law, following DuBose鈥檚 successful push for the legislation, school personnel can only use restraints, physical or mechanical, on a student if they pose a serious risk to themselves or others as long as all other forms of behavioral intervention methods have been exhausted.

Florida law defines a mechanical restraint as the 鈥渦se of a device that restricts a student鈥檚 freedom of movement.鈥� This definition excludes devices recommended by a physician or a behavioral health specialist.

The restraint 鈥� such as handcuffs, zip-ties, straightjackets or other devices 鈥� is to be removed as soon as the dangerous behavior has dissipated and is not be used as discipline.

DuBose鈥檚 legislation also completely prohibited the use of seclusion on students, another behavioral intervention method that the former lawmaker said was 鈥渢raumatic.鈥�

Instead, current law calls on schools to develop crisis intervention plans for students who are restrained more than once a semester. The crisis intervention plan would be developed by a team that includes the student鈥檚 parent or guardian, school personnel, and physical and behavioral health professionals.

But with Placensia鈥檚 bill, school personnel would not be able to use mechanical restraints on students at all.

But physical restraint, meaning a school personnel using manual restraint techniques to restrict movement, would still be available as a last resort when all other behavior intervention methods haven鈥檛 worked.

Caitlyn Clibbon, is a public policy analyst with Disability Rights Florida, spoke at the Thursday committee meeting, saying that the disability advocacy group was in support of the bill.

鈥淯sing mechanical restraints on children is traumatic. It鈥檚 harmful,鈥� Clibbon said during public testimony Thursday.

She continued:

鈥淲e get calls about this all the time. About the effects on the child after it happens to them. It鈥檚 very scary for them. A lot of them don鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 happening. They no longer trust their teacher or school. It can hold them back educationally 鈥� their ability to go to school and actually learn 鈥� because they鈥檙e in fear at school. And it can cause PTSD and things like that.鈥�

The most recent discipline data is from the 2020-21 school year, with the Florida Department of Education reporting that there were 43 uses of mechanical restraints on students in that timespan.

Clibbon also spoke on the use of restraints by law enforcement.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 a true threat 鈥� Lord forbid, there鈥檚 a school shooter or something 鈥� they (SROs, etc.) can absolutely restrain those kids and make sure everything is safe,鈥� Clibbon said.

She continued:

鈥淚f a kid escalates to a point where they鈥檙e actually being physically violent, now we鈥檙e talking about something else 鈥� we鈥檙e talking about crime, possibly a crime.鈥�

At the committee meeting, Rep. Plasencia noted that he has been a teacher in the past, and his official page on the Florida House of Representatives notes that he is also known as 鈥淐oach P.鈥� He is a Republican who represents part of Brevard and Orange counties.

He said he taught social studies for mainstream students, and while he was exposed to students with disabilities in his school, he didn鈥檛 鈥渞eally understand it鈥� until a nephew was diagnosed with autism.

鈥淗aving seen the impacts of the right behavioral therapies can mean for these children and the families, and when the schools implement the right trainings for their instructors and their paraprofessionals, and they allow for the therapist to be a part of that holistic care for that child鈥� that has made a huge difference in his life and for children all over our state and all over our country,鈥� he said to committee members Thursday.

鈥淚t brings us closer to making sure that all children have the ability to be successful as they grow, have the ability to learn, and have the ability to a life of independence,鈥� Plasencia said.

The bill passed 17-0 in a roll call vote and has several more steps to go to get full approval from the House and Senate.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on and .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 麻豆精品鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.