What is Seclusion?

The Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders defines seclusion as "the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving." Using seclusion in schools is highly controversial. The room may be locked and/or not supervised by an adult. Students may be left in these rooms for long periods of time and school staff may not be trained to properly implement the restraint or use of these rooms. Staff may use physical restraints to remove the student from the classroom to a seclusion room, causing injuries to students and staff.

This room is sometimes referred to as the "time-out" room, but a time-out room should have teacher supervision.

What has South Carolina done on this issue?

Currently there is no statute or regulation from the South Carolina Department of Education that covers the use of seclusion and restraint in public schools. In 2004 a non-profit organization, the Family Resource Center for Disabilities and Special Needs, created a manual of recommended practices, "Project REST (Restraint: Efficacy, Safety, and Training)". Project REST has many useful recommendations for the use of seclusion and restraint in public schools, including advocating for the use of positive behavior support in schools in conjunction with crisis management.

Project REST also recommends that physical restraints only be used when a student is harming himself/herself or others and only after other less restrictive strategies have been attempted. In addition, it states that restraints should not be used to force a student to behave in a certain manner, restraints should not cause the student pain, staff should undergo training, and the State Department of Education ("SDE") and the student's school should keep detailed records on seclusion and restraints.

The South Carolina Department of Education provided information about Project REST to school districts but has not adopted the recommendations of the report as regulations. At this time, only 243 of the 1,340 South Carolina schools (about 18%) have implemented positive behavior supports.

Contact P&A to report SECLUSION or RESTRAINT in public schools. Please call 1-866-275-7273 or 803-782-0639 and ask for an Information and Referral Advocate or email us at info@protectionandadvocacy-sc.org.