Edmonton Public Schools adding 25 seclusion rooms despite promise to phase them out
School board has almost two-thirds of the seclusion rooms in the province
Advocates for students with disabilities are angry and frustrated by the Edmonton public school board's plan to build 25 more seclusion rooms in the face of a promise to phase out the spaces.
By September, in the city's 214 public schools, there could be 192 of the locking rooms. They are meant to be used only in a crisis when ... moreStupid!
Edmonton Public Schools adding 25 seclusion rooms despite promise to phase them out
School board has almost two-thirds of the seclusion rooms in the province
Advocates for students with disabilities are angry and frustrated by the Edmonton public school board's plan to build 25 more seclusion rooms in the face of a promise to phase out the spaces.
By September, in the city's 214 public schools, there could be 192 of the locking rooms. They are meant to be used only in a crisis when a student's behaviour presents a risk to themselves or others.
The advocates say data released last month showing staff are putting students in seclusion involuntarily more than nine times on average each school day raises pressing questions about why so many crises are arising.
"Every day that this keeps happening, there's kids who are going to be paying for this for the rest of their lives," said Sarah Doll, who has two children on the autism spectrum.
Although neither of her children have been isolated, her eight-year-old son is moving to a specialized class next year in a school where a seclusion room is being constructed.
Use of seclusion and restraint in Alberta schools has been a flashpoint since 2018, when parents suing a school division east of Edmonton made public their son's harrowing experience inside one of the rooms.
