DOJ, others investigating Michigan school district over use of seclusion and restraint
Federal law enforcement officials are investigating a small school district in central Michigan for its use of seclusion and restraint practices on children with disabilities, a decision that comes after a sweeping 2022 Free Press report on the use of these controversial tactics in schools across the state.
A division of the U.S. Department of Education also opened an investigation into the district, but did not disclose the nature of the inquiry.
The Free Press highlighted the frequency with which educators in the Montcalm Area Intermediate School District and other schools across the state used tactics experts say can traumatize children and lawmakers proudly considered all but banned in 2016.
Tiffany Brown, a spokeswoman for Mark Totten, U.S. Attorney for Michigan's western district, exclusively told the Free Press their office is investigating Montcalm Area ISD. She said they are working with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division as well.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights also acknowledged a separate, ongoing investigation. Neither provided specifics about the investigations. Through such inquiries, federal officials often compel — and monitor — districts to change practices found to violate students' civil rights. If a school district does not comply with the office's findings, it could face legal repercussions.
Dig deeper: Michigan tried to limit 'barbaric' practice in 2016. Educators used it 94,000 times since.
The Free Press report found Montcalm isolated children with disabilities in rooms at least 4,000 times over the past five school years — more than any other school district in the state. District leaders refused to answer questions at the time about why the practice was used at such a high rate in Montcalm's schools. This trend remained consistent in the first half of the 2022-23 school year: Montcalm Area ISD educators recorded secluding children 622 times, according to the most recent state data available. That's by far the most of any district in the state over the same time period.
Montcalm Area ISD Superintendent Kyle Hamlin did not immediately respond to a Free Press request for comment. The Daily News, a small newspaper based in Montcalm County, first reported the U.S. Department of Education investigation.
Restraint and seclusion: What they are
Restraint is when an educator physically pins down or holds a student. Seclusion involves restricting students — often in crisis — to a room by themselves while an adult supervises outside. Seclusion rooms are often small and bare, with a window where adults can peer inside. A small, rectangular seclusion room used by Montcalm ISD has padded cinder block walls with a fluorescent light overhead — an image the district provided in response to a 2022 public records request is grainy and shows only a portion of the room.
In Michigan, the use of restraint and seclusion are legally prohibited except in an emergency situation, where a student poses a threat to themselves or others. The Free Press investigation. however, found that educators used the practices nearly 94,000 times in the five years after lawmakers nixed the use of either tactic outside of an emergency. The investigation determined the legal definition of emergency lacks specificity, and the state imposes no consequences upon districts violating restraint and seclusion laws passed in 2016.
After the Free Press published its investigation, a spokesman for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and some legislative leaders said it was clear lawmakers could improve laws regulating seclusion and restraint. But in the roughly eight months since those comments, the Legislature has yet to take action on any issues related to either practice.
More: Small school district in Michigan's Montcalm County isolated kids 4,000 times in 5 years
Montcalm joins 10 other school districts in the state placed under federal investigation for restraint and seclusion issues. More Michigan school districts are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education over restraint and seclusion than any other state except for Texas, where 17 districts are under investigation. More than 5 million Pre-K-12 students attend public schools in Texas, compared with 1.4 million Michigan pre-K-12 public school students. Florida follows Michigan, with 10 investigations. Roughly twice the number of students, 2.8 million, attend public schools in Florida than in Michigan,.
Intermediate school districts offer specialized programs for students with disabilities who reside in their respective counties. Montcalm's ISD serves 485 students in special education and other programs, according to state enrollment data.
Hamlin told a Detroit Free Press reporter in 2022 that the district complied with state law in instances of seclusion.
“Maybe we’re the district that’s doing it right. … I have an associate superintendent who requires all incidents to be reported, regardless, very much by the book,” Hamlin said during a phone call in August. “I know that we certainly are beyond reproach when it comes to stuff like that.”
In 2022, Montcalm twice denied Free Press public records requests for documents showing justification for each instance of seclusion in Montcalm over two school years, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Free Press reporters appealed Montcalm’s FOIA denial in November and July to the district’s five-member school board. In January, four board members voted to deny the appeal, with one voting in favor of releasing the documents, according to the Daily News.
At that meeting, Hamlin said the district uses seclusion in instances where a student is “having a bad day,” according to the Daily News.
Other school districts under investigation
Montcalm Area ISD is not the only district under investigation by the Office For Civil Rights in Michigan for restraint and seclusion practices: Ten other school districts since 2015 have been placed under investigation, with two investigations into school districts opened in 2023.
The districts under federal investigation are:
Montcalm Area ISD: The Office For Civil Rights opened the investigation this year.
Kingston Community School District: An investigation into Kingston, a district located in the Thumb, was opened on June 30, 2023.
Ubly Community Schools: Also in the Thumb, an investigation was opened on May 12, 2023.
Northwest Education Services: Northwest, in northern Michigan, based in Traverse City, has been under investigation since Oct. 19, 2022.
Maple Valley Schools: This district is southwest of Lansing. The federal government opened its investigation into restraint and seclusion issues on Dec. 17, 2021.
Grand Ledge Public Schools: Grand Ledge is west of Lansing. It was placed under investigation on May 13, 2019.
Genesee Intermediate School District: The intermediate school district, which serves Genesee County including Flint, was placed under investigation on April 19, 2019.
Lake Orion Community Schools: The Oakland County school district was placed under investigation on Feb. 15, 2019.
Macomb Intermediate School District: Macomb ISD in Macomb County was placed under investigation June 3, 2015.
Inland Lakes Schools: The investigation into Inland Lakes, a district located in Northern Michigan, opened on June 3, 2015.
Richmond Community Schools: Richmond, between Port Huron and Detroit, was placed under investigation on June 3, 2015.
The Office for Civil Rights also settled a restraint and seclusion investigation with Huron Valley Schools, a district on the outskirts of metro Detroit, in January 2022. The investigation, opened in January 2019, found that district staff did not always know when it was appropriate to use restraint or seclusion and used mechanical restraints — such devices are not allowed under state law — on a student at least five times in the period reviewed. The district also failed to document 100 out of 325 incidents of restraint and seclusion identified by the investigators.
The Office for Civil Rights found that separate students were secluded or restrained dozens of times, including an elementary school student who was restrained or secluded 43 times by educators. The district failed to document 16 of the 43 incidents.
In its settlement with the U.S. Department of Education, the district agreed to ensure students previously restrained or secluded receive compensatory education, or education meant to make up for the time they were restrained or secluded. It also agreed to revise its documentation process and more closely monitor restraint and seclusion.
In the 2022-23 school year, Huron Valley reported restraining and secluding students fewer than 10 times in the first semester, down from at least 44 instances of seclusion in the first half of 2021-22.
The U.S. Department of Justice has several high-profile investigations into seclusion and restraint practices as well. In 2022, the department's Civil Rights Division and a U.S. attorney in Iowa announced an investigation into the Cedar Rapids Community School District's use of seclusion and restraint on children with disabilities. The district agreed to stop using seclusion, reform how it uses restraint and provide more staff training.
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com. Contact Dave Boucher: dboucher@freepress.com and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Feds investigating Michigan school district over seclusion and restraint
