NC. Department of Education finds school’s seclusion use legally justified

New Hanover County Schools‘ use of seclusion rooms to deal with students’ aggressive behavior does not violate North Carolina law, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and Rick Holliday, assistant superintendent for support services.

In January, Parents of a 5-year old special education student in New Hanover County file a compliant with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).  The complaint alleged that 1. that the school’s use of seclusion was illegal, and 2. the school’s use of seclusion was discriminatory alleging the district was only using its seclusion rooms for students with disabilities.

February: OCR notifies the school district that the complaint has been opened for investigation.

March: The school district compiles information about how it uses its seclusion rooms and sends it to OCR.

On Aug. 27, the U.S. Dpeartment of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) completed its investigation and found that the schoo’s use of seclusion was legal and that the district had no compliance issues with N.C.’s Greenblatt Act, which gives schools strategies, such as seclusion rooms, to deal with students’ aggressive behavior.