The Brief
- Schools would be allowed expanded use of seclusion rooms under the education bill passed in the Minnesota Senate on Thursday.
- A 2023 law banned seclusion rooms for third-graders and below as of Sept. 1, 2024. The new proposal would allow them for any student, but would require parental permission up to sixth grade.
- Advocates in favor say it’s a necessary tool of last resort. Those who oppose it say it’s ineffective and schools often use it inappropriately.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Seven months into a ban on schools using seclusion rooms for young students, the Minnesota Legislature is on the verge of allowing their use more commonly.
A personal debate
‘Not great, but needed’:
After a very personal debate over the controversial behavior strategy, the Minnesota Senate passed an education bill on Thursday giving schools more leeway to seclude kids as long as they have parental permission.
Seclusion rooms were a necessary evil in the school life of Sen. Judy Seeberger’s son.…