Parents sue school over suicide of student with disabilities
August 15th, 2008Georgia eighth-grader had been repeatedly locked in seclusion room for up to seven hours at a time, according to court documents
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Jonathan King, who had ADHD, had told teachers at his alternative public school that he couldn’t stand being locked up. He threatened suicide several times before hanging himself in the seclusion room in 2004 with a cord a teacher provided him to hold up his pants.
A lawyer for the Alpine Program in Gainesville said there is no law addressing the use of seclusion rooms in schools, and that under Georgia law the school can’t be held accountable for Jonathan’s actions.
While there are data available on suicide in public schools, there are no specific data on suicides in seclusion rooms.
Officials for the Georgia Advocacy Office say Jonathan’s case points to this lack of data and oversight.
“This is not an isolated incident. In Georgia, we don’t have any particular rules about seclusion rooms and restraint,” said Ruby Moore, executive director of the Georgia Advocacy Office, one of 50 state offices providing advocacy for the disabled.
Our RSS Feed
August 15th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Wow!! I am the parent of a 15 year old daughter who has cerebral disrhythmia and NvLD. The treatment this young man received is more common than we would like to acknowledge-although never placed in a seclusion room, my daughter was told she was stupid, pulled, pushed and grabbed by teachers and school staff. She was yelled at, denied contact with peers and so badly abused she climbed to the top of the bleachers (folded) and threatened to jump. She, and my family, were tortured by the school district. I finally had to move my family to TX. Had we stayed in Farmington NM, I have no doubt that my daughter would’ve suffered the same fate as young Mr. King. Educators and care givers need to utilize compassion when dealing with OUR children. They are not animals; they are sick, injured, PEOPLE. Thank God we’re out of NM.