Mid-MN Legal Aid releases report on child confinement in Minnesota schools
MEDIA ADVISORY: (Minneapolis, Minn.) – Where the public isn’t allowed to go, Legal Aid’s Minnesota Disability Law Center is. Using their monitoring and investigative authority, MDLC attorneys visited seclusion rooms in Minnesota schools. This week, they are releasing their findings in a comprehensive report, complete with gallery of photos.
As some lawmakers reconsider the current ban on seclusion for youngest learners with disabilities (PreK-3), Legal Aid attorneys invite media to pick up a copy of the report, ask questions and see what seclusion looks like with the practice still in effect for older students with disabilities.
WHAT: Report, “Children in Confinement: Seclusion in Schools”|
WHO: Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Attorneys Jessica Heiser, Jessica Webster
WHERE: Minnesota State Capitol Press Room
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m.
“Our Protection & Advocacy team visited 80 of the 194 registered seclusion rooms in Minnesota. What we came away with is the most comprehensive review of seclusion rooms that anyone has ever undertaken, to our knowledge.”
– AttorneyEren Sutherland, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Minnesota Disability Law Center
“We know seclusion is disproportionately used against children of color, especially young boys with disabilities. Eleven states already ban seclusion, including states like Georgia and Alabama. It’s time for Minnesota to join that list.”
– Attorney Jessica Heiser, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Minnesota Disability Law Center
“Minnesotans can make their own determinations about the humanity of these empty, locked cinderblock spaces. The legislature has discussed eliminating the use of seclusion for years. These small rooms that kids are dragged into – are NOT calming rooms. Children deserve sensory rooms and calming spaces with toys, climbers, and toys to destress”
-Attorney Jessica Webster, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Legal Services Advocacy Project
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Media contact:
Lisa Ramirez | Lramirez@mylegalaid.org
Communications Director
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
612.746.3641