Supporters of student who died after being restrained call for awareness and changes

More than 70 people attended a vigil in front of the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office to remember 13-year-old Max Benson, who died after being restrained at his El Dorado Hills school last year.

Several attendees lit candles, shared memories of the autistic boy who was called energetic and caring, and who loved rocks, numbers and animals.

It’s been a year since Max died after being restrained at Guiding Hands School, an El Dorado Hills non-public school for special-needs children. He was restrained face-down by school staff for one hour and 45 minutes, according to court documents, and died a day later at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The school was under investigation by state and county officials in connection with the death when it closed in January.

“It’s so hard to explain how amazing Max was,” said Katie Jackson, Max’s former speech pathologist who’s now a board-certified behavior analyst who is against the use of restraints. “There is no way in the world that light will be replaced.”

Some wore blue shirts that read, “What you permit, you promote,” referring to the complicity they said schools and teachers engage in by allowing aggressive and prone restraints on students.

Vigil organizers said the International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion announced worldwide vigils in honor and remembrance of Max. Several people sent in letters of support, some of them strangers, and lit candles to call for justice and policy changes.

Those who posted pictures of their lit candles and vigils on social media were asked to use the hashtag #ShineOnMax. People from as far as from New Zealand and Australia shared photos and words of support to Max’s mother, Stacia Langley, who attended the vigil alongside her parents and sister.

Langley wore her “bad guy” pants, a pair of purple leggings, a nod to a video she shared with The Sacramento Bee of a young Max singing to her about his bad guy pants. Langley said she wore them in order to feel extra brave.

This was the first time Max’s family made a public appearance at a vigil. Previous vigils for Max were held in front of Guiding Hands and outside Davis City Hall nearly a year ago.

“We are here to support the family, to show how much we loved Max, and to celebrate his life,” said family friend Karen Hirsch. “Max strongly believed in justice and we owe that to him. We need to hold people accountable and to raise awareness.”

Last week, Langley told The Bee “Max would want to protect other kids. He wanted to be a hero. He’s finally going to be a hero.”

El Dorado County prosecutors formally filed involuntary manslaughter charges last week against administrators and a teacher at Guiding Hands. Three staffers at the school – school site administrator Cindy Keller, principal Staranne Meyers and Kimberly Wohlwand, the teacher accused of being among those who restrained Max – were arraigned Wednesday in El Dorado Superior Court in Placerville.

Keller, Meyers and Wohlwend face up to four years in state prison if convicted.

They are also named in a separate civil lawsuit filed against Guiding Hands, and it alleges Wohlwend restrained the young Benson with the help of other teachers. Seth Goldstein, who represents Max’s family, said the case will likely take longer than a year.

“We hope this practice (of using restraints) will end, and your support will only help us to that end,” Goldstein said.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Max’s family, names several school districts and county agencies, and states Handle with Care, a New York based agency that specializes in behavior management and crisis intervention training, failed to instruct staff on the known dangers in using restraints on children.

Guiding Hands was removed from a list of non-public school providers for special-needs students, according to court documents, but families from various school districts were not informed. Had they known, the suit says, they would not have enrolled their children, including Max, at the school. Three other students named in the lawsuit were “repeatedly battered and assaulted by teachers,” according to court documents.

The state investigated the school multiple times prior to Max’s death.

Many vigil attendees said the priority is to ensure that state and legal accountability takes place, and that a death like Max’s never happens again.