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45 U. Tol. L. Rev. 505 (2013-2014)
Time-out and Seclusion Litigation: A Liability Nightmare

handle is hein.journals/utol45 and id is 527 raw text is: TIME-OUT AND SECLUSION LITIGATION: A LIABILITY NIGHTMARE? Susan C. Bon and Perry A. Zirkel* INTRODUCTION H IGH-profile media reports of K-12 schools subjecting children with disabilities to severe forms of seclusion' reveal the controversial nature of aversive interventions. For example, a national television station reported the claims of several parents in a Connecticut school district that their children's elementary school uses a scream room to address behavioral problems.2 Although one parent of a child with autism perceived the benefits of such a time- out mechanism for her child's need for a quiet space to calm down, other parents expressed outrage at this aversive, isolation treatment.3 Other mass-media reports include litigation or legislation in tandem with such incidents.4 For instance, parents of a seven-year-old child who wet himself while secluded in the school's designated cool down room, which-according to them-resembled a padded prison cell, reportedly filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages for emotional and physical injuries to their child.5 However, the same source did not provide any details about the theories and outcome of the * Susan C. Bon is Associate Professor of Education Law and Affiliate Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina. Perry A. Zirkel is University Professor of Education and Law at Lehigh University. We would like to thank the various members of the Toledo Law Review who organized this Symposium; and extend special thanks to Stephanie Green who provided keen insights and served as an editorial assistant for this piece prior to its publication. 1. See, e.g., Laura Hibbard, Parents Outraged Over School 'Scream Rooms' at Farm Hill Elementary School in Connecticut, HUFFINGTON POST (Jan. 11, 2012, 4:21 PM), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/1 1/school-scream-rooms-middletown-conn-farm-hill- elementary-school n_1 199558.html; Brian Ross et al., Death at School: Parents Protest Dangerous Discipline for Autistic, Disabled Kids, ABC NEWS (Nov. 29, 2012), http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/death-school-parents-protest-dangerous-discipline-autistic- disabled/story?id=17702216. 2. School Puts Troubled Kids in 'Scream Room', NBC NEws (Jan. 11, 2012, 5:47 AM), http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/01/11/10113042-school-puts-troubled-kids-in-scream- room. 3. Id. 4. See, e.g., Jennifer Smith Richards & Molly Bloom, Education: Isolation Chambers, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH (Aug. 5, 2012, 6:20 AM), http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/ local/2012/08/05/seclusion-rooms-art-gg5ig0vc-1.html. 5. Carey Pena, Elementary School Faces Lawsuit Over Padded Seclusion Room, AZFAMILY.COM (Sept. 19, 2012, 9:30 PM), http://www.azfamily.com/news/Elementary-school- faces-lawsuit-over-padded-seclusion-room-1 70441246.html. 505

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