Skip to content

(VIDEO): KCRG: U.S. Department of Ed to increase oversight of student seclusion and restraint

WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) -- Following an I9 investigation, the U.S. Department of Education has now issued new guidelines around schools using seclusion rooms.

It is legal for schools to use seclusion rooms to isolate students having a violent outburst but our investigation found some eastern Iowa school districts over using or under reporting how often those rooms are used.

After our investigation, Iowa Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Charles Grassley pressed the U.S. Department of Education to investigate if more oversight was needed. I9 has learned federal regulators are doing just that.

In a statement to KCRG-TV9, Senator Ernst called misreporting seclusion use in schools a "systemic problem".

"I'm hopeful this initiative will create transparency, and most importantly, ensure safety for students in Iowa, and across the country," Ersnt went on to say in the statement.

For the full article/video, click here or on the image above.

###