CARY, N.C. (WNCN) – For the first time, the Wake County School Board is revealing how often teachers have had to restrain or segregate students during the school year.
Officials said they wanted more transparency after concerns about protocols and reporting systems.
These concerns come after a lawsuit was filed by a local family after their daughter was locked in a closet 24 times and kept in a secluded area.
It was a cell phone video that started the movement.
In 2021, the then 8-year-old daughter of Jocelyn and Kevin Pease was captured on camera being restrained and escorted from a classroom at Scotts Ridge Elementary School.
The ensuing lawsuit and $450,000 settlement led to a special board meeting Wednesday.
Pease attended the meeting, where district leaders presented the number of restraint and seclusion incidents in the school system from July to December 2023.
“I'm really glad it's being talked about. I think this is very important and a great first step to actually getting some numbers reported,” she said.
Wake County schools have had 864 incidents involving 240 students, according to district data.
Of these, 180 are elementary school students, 28 are high school students, and 32 are junior high school students. Most of those students are on her IEP (Individualized Education Program).
Pease said sharing these statistics with the community is a good first step, but there are major concerns.
She worries that the focus is not necessarily on preventing the need for restraint or isolation in the first place.
Pease is particularly concerned about comments by Director of Student Due Process Jamal Woods that segregation is helpful in recalibrating students' emotions.
“There are no regulations during isolation. Isolation is only traumatic and the behavior you see will escalate further,” she explained. “If you relax, it's too late for the party.”
Some officials at the board meeting expressed the opinion that training of teachers and staff is needed to properly learn how to de-escalate the situation.
“We would like to see mandatory training across the board to protect students and staff. We should give it to them,” said board member Toshiba Rice.
Pease is also concerned that reporting is inaccurate and that there are discrepancies between “time-out” and “isolation.” She also believes there are too many differences between federal and state definitions of seclusion and restraint and reporting requirements.
Pease already has her sights set on making even bigger changes for students across the state.
“A lot of us parents would like to get together this spring if possible.” [General Assembly] session. “Student Bill of Rights. A greater right for a third-grade female student would be to not be violently restrained and forced into a closet by a male teacher. Bodily integrity and protection from false imprisonment. It needs to be in the student bill of rights,” Pease said.