A renewed push to ban seclusion, reduce restraint in Michigan schools

Thousands of times a year in Michigan schools, students who are considered a potential danger to themselves and others — many of them children with disabilities — are physically restrained or put in seclusion.

That’s despite an almost 10-year-old law aimed at reducing instances where students are secluded or restrained.

The broad consensus is that schools should do more to reduce their reliance on these techniques, but there’s disagreement on whether new legislation is needed to make that happen.

Current state policy makes clear schools should only consider physically restraining a student or confining them to a room away from others in emergency situations where a student is at risk of harming themselves or others. But critics say schools still seclude and restrain students too often and the state should make more clear what actually constitutes an emergency.

Among the most vocal groups is Michigan Advocates to End Seclusion & Restraint (EndSaR). It acknowledges there are times when students are in crisis but says schools should try to avoid crises in the first place. It also wants to ensure seclusion is not used for discipline.

“We’re a decade into implementation, and what we’ve seen demonstrated is that additional safeguards are necessary to fully protect our students and staff,” said EndSaR chair Cassie Atallah. “Thousands of students continue to experience seclusion and restraint each year, and we believe that Michigan can do better.”

Michigan schools secluded or restrained students nearly 18,000 times during the 2024-2025 school year, down from the previous two school years. The vast majority of these instances involved students with disabilities.

Families of students with disabilities — along with advocates who say they were secluded as children — say Michigan must acknowledge the trauma children and staff experience.

They’ve found a partner in State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who says she plans to introduce a bill this fall that would prohibit seclusion, require districts to create reduction plans if the state determines that they excessively restrain students and require districts to train staff on how trauma affects student learning.

“It’s alarming because our kids are obviously very vulnerable, and when we’re talking about kids with disabilities, they’re even more vulnerable,” Chang told Bridge Michigan. “We need to make sure the adults in our school settings are doing things appropriately.”

What the bill would change

Under Chang’s draft bill, seclusions would be prohibited, and restraint would only be allowed in “emergency situations and only if essential to prevent imminent serious bodily harm to the pupil or another individual.”

If a district uses restraint excessively, it would be required to report to the state how it will reduce restraints. The Michigan Department of Education would determine what’s considered excessive.

“The point of this bill is not just to take seclusion and restraint away. It’s to open up that space and bring in healthier, more effective approaches. And without that second part, this doesn’t have the effect that we’re hoping it’ll have,” said Atallah.

But the effort faces some opposition.

“We recognize that emergency seclusion (and) restraint has to be decreased,” said Kirsten Myers, assistant superintendent of student services for Kent Intermediate School District and past president of the Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education.

Districts need to better define what an emergency is, she said, “but to eliminate one practice or the other altogether in a moment of significant crisis is incredibly concerning for myself as an educator.”

Under the proposal, districts would be required to train staff who may be called upon in emergency situations on how trauma affects learning and the body.

But Myers said school personnel in Kent and other districts already have access to training that includes neuroscience and trauma information, explains de-escalation and co-regulation techniques and encourages “restorative” ways to debrief about what happened that led to the seclusion or restraint.

“The superintendents are committed to the work and committed to reducing emergency seclusion (and) restraint. So we already have a training package in place, doing exactly what they’re looking to legislate, supporting our educators, our students, and our families across the state.”

The optional training is distributed through the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators and a network of special education leaders. The training is starting its second year and the goal is to have intermediate districts train individual local district personnel.

EndSaR, the advocacy group, says it wants to support educators.

“We have never interacted with an educator or school staff that wants to traumatize or harm a child,” said Marisa Brizzolara, vice chair of the group. “They just don’t know what else to do. And I think if we give them that information, we would see a lot of progress.”

Seclusion and restraint’s toll on students and teachers

The toll of seclusion and restraint can weigh on students for years after it occurs.

Sunday Koffron Taylor, a co-founder of EndSaR, recalls “being dragged out of the classroom” and being put in the nurse’s office when she was a first grader who struggled to read. That was about 50 years ago and later the fear of being restrained and secluded meant she avoided school altogether.

“I don’t think people understand that when you assault a child in front of 30 other kids, that that is going to leave a life of distrust,” said Koffron Taylor.

Years ago, Koffron Taylor realized students were still being restrained and secluded, like she had during her time in school. Now, she supports EndSaR’s efforts.

“I was angry. I just can’t believe we’re still using these antiquated techniques with everything we know about trauma and about trauma-informed care and everything we know about ACES (adverse childhood experiences), that we would just be condoning assaulting children in their local elementary school seems crazy.”

She cited the 2020 death of Cornelius Frederick, a 16-year-old boy who died from asphyxiation after being physically restrained in a youth facility in Kalamazoo. The state has since passed restrictions on seclusion and restraint in child caring institutions.

The Michigan Department of Education has not taken a formal position on the draft bill. MDE has “advocated with the Legislature for funding to train teachers on when and how to use seclusion and restraint,” said Bob Wheaton, an MDE spokesperson. “The department will collaborate with legislators, local school districts and anyone else who wants to protect the health, safety and wellness of all learners. The department looks forward to working with our legislative partners, including the sponsors of this draft bill, in protecting children.”

MDE convened a task force from December 2024 to April 2025 that included advocates, department staff and special education administrators. The group recommended aligning state and federal guidance, changing the law to “ensure clarity” about seclusion and restraint and focusing on prevention.

On the national level, lawmakers have proposed bipartisan legislation that would outlaw seclusion and further limit restraint in schools that receive federal funding. Lawmakers have tried to pass similar legislation since at least 2009, reports K-12 Dive.

In 2023, the Department of Justice launched an investigation and found that Montcalm Intermediate School District had violated federal disability law through its use of seclusion and restraint. The federal government and school district reached an agreement last year that requires the district to ban seclusion and change restraint practices.

Advocates seek clarity

Chang’s draft bill aims to align state definitions with federal definitions of seclusion and restraint and calls for the public reporting of student demographics when students are restrained.

Currently, the public can download seclusion and restraint data on the state’s MI School Data site. But the information does not include the grade, race or gender of students.

The federal government also collects seclusion and restraint data but the US Government Accountability Office previously raised serious concerns about the quality and accuracy of the data. Meanwhile, the most recent federal data is more than six months late and the US Department of Education is moving aspects of civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice.

Myers said she supports providing clarity on what constitutes an emergency and aligning the state definition to federal guidance.

Chang said she hopes to introduce the bill this fall.

For Koffron Taylor and others, the bill represents a chance to do something differently.

“I hope that they use trauma-informed practices. I hope that they focus on what is distressing children in the first place.”

This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.