Legislation important to Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley is making its way through the legislature.
A package of bills banning the methods of restraint and seclusion on special education students in schools except in cases of emergency has passed through the state House.
Calley, who went on a special education listening tour across Michigan, said the passage is an example of the legislature giving a voice to people who don’t have one.
“It’s long overdue that we have some standards in schools with respect to how restraint and seclusion are used,” he said.
Calley said the practices are outdated and, “Community mental health, along with even our prison and jail system have left these practices behind.”
Critics of the legislation are concerned that it would limit parental choice to discipline. Not so, said Calley.
“What this does is it sets some minimum standards with respect to the sorts of things that would be illegal in a household, illegal in a prison, illegal in a hospital, would now be illegal in the schools,” he said.
The bills would also increase reporting requirements for schools when seclusion and restraint methods are used.
