A settlement has been reached in a 2020 lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools that challenged a practice at the time of using isolation, seclusion and restraint with students in special education.
The suit was filed by Shawan Daniels and Laquesha Jackson on behalf of their sons, two minors with disabilities. According to their lawsuit, some students were confined in small padded “seclusion rooms,” and Daniels claimed her son was injured.
At the time, the district had contracted with a company called Specialized Education Services Inc. to provide special education services. Both the district and the company denied all accusations in the lawsuit, and the district later ended its contract with the company.
Columbia Public Schools had entered the contract with the special education provider in 2019 to work together at CORE, a facility dedicated to serving students with special education needs. The lawsuit claimed the children were regularly disciplined by being locked in seclusion rooms, a practice prohibited by district policy.
The two plaintiffs accused both the district and the company of disability discrimination in violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, negligent supervision, false imprisonment, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The settlement between Shawan Daniels and the district was approved Aug. 3, and any funds Daniels will receive on behalf of her son will be placed in a restricted account, according to court documents.
The settlement between Laquesha Jackson and the district was also approved Aug. 3, and funds received on behalf of her son will be placed in a special needs trust.
Under a Missouri law that became effective in August 2021, the use of seclusion in schools has been strictly limited. Confining a student in seclusion or using physical restraint is narrowly reserved for situations where there is an imminent danger of physical harm to the student or others.
Seclusion and restraint cannot be used as a form of discipline or punishment, or simply for staff convenience. And students must be removed from seclusion or restraint as soon as they are no longer an imminent danger.
