On the heels of a mid-January report revealing widespread physical and emotional injuries resulting from schools’ use of seclusion and restraint (see here), two states are moving to limit such discipline tactics.

In Tennessee a new law prohibits school staff from using tie-down straps or from putting any student in a locked or barricaded room. The law also disallows any form of restraint that restricts air from the student. The rules are part of the Special Education Isolation and Restraint Modernization and Behavioral Supports Act, which is the first law in the state to address student restraint, reports The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, in Ohio the governor is pushing for the state to establish a uniform policy on the use of restraints. Last year the state’s Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities banned the so-called prone restraint whereby subjects are held face down (see here). However, current state policy allow each agency to set their own rules. Now, the governor is convening a group to draft a statewide policy, reports The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. To read more click here.

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