District Enters Voluntary Agreement with Office for Civil Rights Regarding Restraint and Seclusion
This week, Huron Valley Schools in Michigan and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) entered into a voluntary resolution agreement based on patterns of restraint and seclusion uncovered during a nationwide compliance review series initiated by OCR in 2019.
The review found that students were restrained and secluded repeatedly, resulting in lost instructional time, and that the district did not review or revise the kinds of supports the students received.
The voluntary agreement delineates steps the district will take to “ensure that students with disabilities receive the free appropriate public education (FAPE) to which they are entitled,” including reviewing restraint and seclusion usage, creating a new system for documenting usage, and assessing whether students repeatedly restrained and secluded require additional services.
OCR notes that the voluntary agreement “reflects the district’s willingness to address the civil rights of its students.”