Wake schools repeatedly put child in closet, tried to hide it from parents, judge rules
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A state judge has ruled that the Wake County school system illegally confined a disabled elementary school student in a closet more than 20 times and tried to hide it from her parents.
Under state law, schools are supposed to promptly notify parents if their children are secluded for more than 10 minutes or more than the time allowed in their school behavior intervention plan. But state Administrative Law Judge Stacey Bawtinhimer says Scotts Ridge Elementary School in Apex misled a family to hide how it repeatedly restrained and secluded a special-education student, identified in the court decision as “L.P.”
“Throughout this saga, WCPSS staff have not been ‘forthwith’ with L.P.’s Parents and at times have been intentionally deceitful,” Bawtinhimer wrote in her decision issued July 30.
Bawtinhimer ordered the Wake County school system to take steps such as pay for compensatory services for the student and to reimburse the private school tuition that the family paid after withdrawing her from the school system.
The Wake County school system denies the charges and will appeal the decision.
“The Wake County Public School System is unable to comment on an individual student or staff member,” the district said in a statement. “We strongly disagree with the decision and the characterization of staff actions and programs.
“School district personnel will seek WCPSS Board authority to appeal the decision. We consistently work to improve our comprehensive services and have great confidence in our programs and staff.”
Special-education disputes are rarely publicly discussed because of the confidential nature of the cases. But Stacey Gahagan, the attorney for the family, said the parents want other parents to be aware of what is happening in schools.
Alone in a closet for more than hour
The student has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and several other disabilities. Only 0.25% of students in the U.S. have her combination of disabilities.
L.P. was 8-years-old when she transferred to Scott’s Ridge Elementary for third grade at the start of the 2017-18 school year. She was placed in the Emotional Behavioral Support program, which is intended for students with “significant behavioral and/or emotional deficits.”
Her behavior intervention plan didn’t specify the time frame or the circumstances when restraint and seclusion could be used.
But the judge said L.P. was placed in seclusion at least 22 times from September 2017 to February 2019. The decision describes the seclusion as placing the student alone in a closet in a teacher’s lounge and holding the door closed to keep her inside. She was secluded for periods of between 10 minutes and 87 minutes.
“If the success of a program depends on confining elementary school children in closets, there is something fundamentally wrong with that program,” Gahagan said in a statement. “The fact that WCPSS has a special program only for disabled children that includes restraint and seclusion as an ‘integral part’ is disturbing at best.”
Schools are allowed to seclude students, placing them in a different room from other students, to prevent injury. But they’re not allowed to seclude them solely for disciplinary reasons, according to Disability Rights NC.
Bawtinhimer said L.P. was secluded for things like flipping back her chair, flipping markers, grabbing a teacher’s arm and “being annoying.” She said seclusion is not meant to be used for punishment.
L.P. began to refuse to go to school and was scared to be in a shower or bathroom alone. The student told her mom she was worried she would go to school and never see her mom again.
The parents didn’t know the reason for the increased anxiety because Bawtinhimer says Wake “used euphemisms such as ‘time out’ or ‘quiet room’ or ‘escort’ on school records to conceal” what was occurring.
“The use of ‘time out’ to mean seclusion is a mischaracterization of North Carolina law,” Bawtinhimer wrote. “WCPSS’ misrepresentations prevented L.P.’s Parents from knowing about her restraint and seclusion.”
‘Manhandled’ by school staff
The family didn’t learn about the restraint and seclusion until Feb. 21, 2019, when the mother of LP.’s best friend came to Scotts Ridge to have lunch with her child.
L.P. wasn’t allowed to have lunch with her non-disabled peers that day because of misbehaving in the classroom. But instead of serving her punishment, she went to the cafeteria to sit with her best friend.
Three special-education staff members and the principal began to surround the then 9-year-old, who crouched in a fetal position and asked them to leave her alone. The court decision says the principal “grabbed her underneath her arms and informed L.P. that she needed to come with her.”
The judge says staff didn’t try to calm her down but instead restrained her even though she “was not a danger to herself or others.” She was placed in seclusion.
“L.P. did not hit or push staff until after the school staff ‘manhandled’ her,” according to the court decision.
The school disputes this description of what occurred. But the judge said the district’s “documentation and the testimonies of Scott’s Ridge staff regarding the Cafeteria incident were not credible.”
The parent recorded the incident on her phone and told L.P.’s family. The video shocked the parents, particularly L.P.’s father, identified as “K.P.,” who is a teacher in the Wake County school system.
‘Betrayed’ by the school system
“K.P. felt betrayed and lied to by WCPSS,” according to the judge’s decision. “Once he found out about the Cafeteria Incident, he also felt WCPSS had been hiding the use of restraint and seclusion.”
When the family objected, the school said the use of seclusion and restraint were “critical to the success” of the program.
After this incident, the student’s emotional state rapidly declined. She began having recurring nightmares about being restrained and secluded. She also had a panic attack after seeing another student being taken to the seclusion room.
The judge also said that the child “had gaps in her academic skills due to WCPSS ineffective educational programming” and that “she regressed over the duration of her sojourn” at Scotts Ridge.
The family transferred the fifth-grade student to a private school in February 2020, where the judge says she’s seen improvement. The family also went on to file a lawsuit against the district.
In addition to violating state law, Bawtinhimer said Wake violated the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The judge ordered a lengthy series of remedies, including requiring the district to:
▪ Reimburse the family for private tuition and related costs including transportation.
▪ Provide compensatory academic services equal to 150 hours of compensatory education in math and 105 hours of other core academic content instruction.
▪ Provide two years of compensatory education in social skills.
▪ Provide two years of speech-language therapy.
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 12:51 PM.
