For Immediate Release
05/25/2021
Contact: Jack Rosen
202-567-3538
[email protected]
Washington DC – The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is pleased to learn of the resolution agreement announced between U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Horry County Schools in South Carolina on the use of restraint and seclusion. With this resolution, Horry County Schools will take the necessary steps to ensure all children, including those with disabilities, receive an appropriate education free from unnecessary restraint, seclusion, or being needlessly removed from the classroom. This agreement was made possible by a thorough investigation by OCR.
“We hope this agreement will send a strong message to other school districts that restraint and seclusion should only be a drastic last resort, and not a typical way of dealing with students with disabilities,” said Curt Decker, Executive Director of the National Disability Rights Network. “We can not have schools simply remove students with disabilities from the classroom. We must also ensure that students with disabilities receive an appropriate education, free of the threat of violent restraint or seclusion by the adults entrusted with providing them one.”
