U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) issued a policy letter from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, in which Cardona expresses concerns about the continued use of restraint and seclusion and expresses the importance of engaging in proactive practices supporting students:

"Restraint and seclusion practices can have a lasting and negative impact on children. There is ample evidence of significant harms to students due to these practices, including serious physical injury, emotional trauma, and even death.[ii] Schools and early childhood programs should do everything possible to align their practices to ensure all children are educated in learning environments that are safe, supportive, and responsive to their unique needs.

"Instead of relying on reactive restraint and seclusion practices, it is critical for educators to be given opportunities to learn about and implement positive, proactive practices in schools and early childhood programs and how to effectively support and respond to students’ behavioral needs. As described in previous guidance from the Department, this involves using practices that provide a behavioral framework to support the social, emotional, physical, and mental health needs of students,[iii] including through the use of multi-tier systems of supports with individualized, targeted, and effective interventions for high-need students."

In his letter, Cardona reminds readers of previously published guidance on implementing positive and proactive supports, such as that in the guidance document released just a few months ago, titled Using Functional Behavioral Assessments to Create Supportive Learning Environments.

Additional resources within the letter include the following:

[i] U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2020-21 Civil Rights Data Collection: A First Look: Students’ Access to Educational Opportunities in U.S. Public Schools, https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-educational-opportunities-report.pdf.

[ii] Government Accountability Office, Seclusion and Restraints: Selected Cases of Death and Abuse and Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers. GAO-09-719T. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-09-719t.pdf (Washington, DC: May 19, 2009).

[iii] U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, and Fair School Climates. March 2023. Available at: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/guiding-principles.pdf.

[iv] U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, and Fair School Climates. March 2023. Available at: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/guiding-principles.pdf.

[v] U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Positive, Proactive Approaches to Supporting Children with Disabilities: A Guide for Stakeholders. July 2022. Available at: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/guide-positive-proactive-approaches-to-supporting-children-with-disabilities.pdf. See also: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services & Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. See also: Using Functional Behavioral Assessments to Create Supportive Learning Environments. November 2024. Available at: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Functional-Behavioral-Assessments-11-19-2024.pdf.