When 8-year-old Shaylyn Searcy came home on a school bus in February of 2012, her feet and ankles had been duct-taped. Shaylyn has Down syndrome and her ankles were bruised from the duct tape.
Shaylyn has a history of refusing to put on her shoes. But, says her mother, Elizabeth Searcy, teachers have contacted her before to address the situation. Her family says that Shaylyn will not be returning to Westlake Elementary School and have notified the State Department of Chlld Services.
Ths use of the duct tape on Shaylyn violates her rights under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It highlights why we need to push for national legislation regulating and limiting the use of restraints on kids with disabilities in public school settings.
As Kim Dodson, associate executive director of The Arc of Indiana, tells the Indianapolis Star, Indiana is one of twenty states that have no laws to prohibit the excessive use of seclusion and restraint in public schools -- and this must change.
