In this section, Lives in the Balance keeps you up-to-date on breaking news about how behaviorally challenging kids are being understood and treated, especially in schools and restrictive therapeutic facilities (stories with asterisks were brought to our attention by Lives in the Balance activists). While it's mostly the bad news that makes the headlines, lots of good work is being done by many people in many places on behalf of behaviorally challenging kids and their caregivers. The bad news just tells us there's more work to be done.
SCHOOLS IN THE NEWS:
February, 2020
When it comes to seclusion and restraint, Colorado schools "are investigating themselves"...The Colorado Sun
February, 2020
Violence in schools is a national crisis...Psychology Today
February, 2020
Restrained in class: Parents, experts alarmed by educators restraining children...WCNC
February, 2020
'Zero-tolerance' discipline disproportionately affects students of color, with disabilities...Texas Public Radio
February, 2020
Educators say violence against teachers getting worse; report suggests solutions...WMUR9
February, 2020
Seclusion room violations found in six Illinois school districts, but parents say investigations didn't go far enough...Chicago Tribune
February, 2020
6-year old girl was committed to mental health facility without parent consent...NBC News
February, 2020
No Wisconsin agency tracks how often Wisconsin kids secluded and restrained, but lawmakers want change...Post Crescent
February, 2020
Kentucky house votes to stop corporal punishment in schools...The River City News
February, 2020
'You're going to get shot': Video shows school police officer threatening student leaving campus with excused absence...Washington Post
February, 2020
Little Rock school district changes take aim at claims of bias against black students...Arkansas Democrat Gazette
February, 2020
Thames Valley school board eyes groundbreaking policy to turf threatening students...The London Free Press
January, 2020
New York City's school disciplinary approach ties principals' hands, union says...The Wall Street Journal
January, 2020
Illinois lawmakers are calling for a nationwide ban on isolated time-outs of students...ProPublica Illinois
January, 2020
Education leaders respond to ACLU of Montana report about discipline in schools...Great Falls Tribune
January, 2020
Calming down: Schools focus on helping children cope with strong emotions...Columbia Basin Herald
January, 2020
Wisconsin senate approves new student retraint guidelines...StarTribune
January, 2020
BTF President: "disturbing" and "unacceptable" conditions in Buffalo schools...calls for new suspension practices...WKBW Buffalo
January, 2020
New York City's schol disciplinary approach ties principals' hands, union says...The Wall Street Journal
January, 2020
No due process for Alabama students facing discipline, SPLC says...AL.com
January, 2020
Beaumont ISD suspends kids at Texas' highest rate -- and it's not even close...Houston Chronicle
January, 2020
Lawmakers to introduce legislation targeting "school-to-prison pipeline" in Pennsylvania...CBS21
January, 2020
New rules for cops in CPS prevent officers from intervening in school discipline...Chicago Sun Times
January, 2020
Most New Hanover K-8 schools use seclusion rooms, top US education officials have concerns about their use...Port City Daily
December, 2019
L.A. Unified's ban on willful defiance suspensions, six years later...EdSource
December, 2019
The takedown: Illinois allows schools to physically restrain children. But workers often violated the rules in dangerous ways...The Chicago Tribune
December, 2019
Commentary: Limiting use of school "quiet rooms" is not enough. Teachers need training and support...The Chicago Tribune
December, 2019
Neighbor states stop paddling disabled students, Alabama still swinging away...Advance Local
December, 2019
Is it OK for public schools to put misbehaving special needs children in locked-door seclusion?...Washington Examiner
December, 2019
School shootings could be prevented if we intervened in cases of troubled students...THINK
December, 2019
"I shouldn't be afraid to send my child to school:" N.B. mother speaks out about seclusion rooms...Global News
November, 2019
After autistic boy dies during school restraint, three educators charged with manslaughter...Los Angeles Times
November, 2019
Secret Service study explores school shooter warning signs...PBS
November, 2019
Illinois to take emergy action to halt isolated time-outs in schools...Chicago Tribune
November, 2019
The quiet rooms: Children are being locked away, alone and terrified, in schools across Illinois. Often, it's againts the law...ProPublica
October, 2019
Parents sue Fairfax schools, allege improper use of seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities...Washington Post
October, 2019
Parents and teachers not aware of seclusion room alternatives, expert says...CBC
October, 2019
Parents, regulators left in the dark over school behavior management techniques...Searchlight New Mexico
October, 2019
Racial gaps in Nashville public school suspensions: 5 takeaways from our investigation...Tennessean
September, 2019
Mindfulness, yoga over suspensions, detentions, at Baltimore schools...The Washington Informer
September, 2019
School tackles bad behavior by inviting parents to class instead of sending kids home...The Epoch Times
September, 2019
Restraint in schools: How this practice is used on Maine students and what methods may work better...Maine Public
September, 2019
Police and punitive policies make schools less safe, especially for minority students...Washington Post
September, 2019
Black boys with a disability face far higher risk of of suspension...Futurity
September, 2019
An alternative school is opening for kids with behavior issues -- some as youg as 5...Washington Post
September, 2019
Public comment sought on state's plans to restrict seclusion, restraint in schools...Des Moines Register
September, 2019
Suspend or expel kindergartners from school? Not in Tacoma...The News Tribune
July, 2019
The money was fake. The police were real. It happened in an elementary school...Washington Post
May, 2019
Criminalizing disability: Special-needs kids who don't get help are winding up in jail...Searchlight New Mexico
May, 2019
Use of restraint and seclusion on the rise in Maine schools, advocacy group says...Portland Press Herald
March, 2019
Cops and no counselors: How the lack of school mental health staff is harming students...ACLU
March, 2019
Betsy DeVos effort to delay special-ed regulations rejected by court...Washington Post
March, 2019
Bristol teachers union joining drive to tighten classroom discipline...Hartford Courant
February, 2019
When black students are beaten at school -- and black educators are to blame...Washington Post
February, 2019
School shooters: What's their path to violence?...NPR
February, 2019
Light oversight on school timeout rooms...NECN Boston
February, 2019
Classrooms in crisis: Verbal, physical, sometimes violent outbursts plaguing Oregon classrooms...KGW8
January, 2019
U.S. Department of Education announces initiative to address the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion to protect children with disabilities, ensure compliance with federal laws...U.S. Department of Education
December, 2018
Trump officials plan to rescind Obama-era school discipine policies...New York Times
September, 2018
The future of restraint and seclusion in schools...The Atlantic
September, 2018
U.S. school brings back paddling as punishment...CTV
June, 2018
Schools fuel mental health crisis by isolating children in harsh "consequences booths," ministers warned...Independent
May, 2018
Governor signs bill banning corporal punishment for disabled students...WSMV
March, 2018
Why are black students punished so often? Minnesota confronts a national quandary...New York Times
November, 2017
New data reveal 250 preschoolers are suspended or expelled every day...Center for American Progress
October, 2017
How can we stem the school-to-prison pipeline?...CITYLAB
October, 2017
Judge rules Kentucky county liable for handcuffed children...New York Times
October, 2017
UAE bans detentions, downgrading, and mockery as forms of school discipline...Arab News
September, 2017
Mother demands answers after son, 8, put in restraints and injected on first day of school...CBC News
September, 2017
Don't suspend students. Empathize...New York Times
February, 2017
Mississauga mom launches complaint after police handcuff her 6-year old daughter...CBC News
September, 2016
Our View: To stop cyle of failure, help Maine's youngest learners...Portland Press Herald
September, 2016
Hey teachers, please stop using behavior charts. Here's why...PBS Newshour
September, 2016
ACLU sues KC schools - says bullied child, 7, was handcuffed for crying...Kansas City Star
September, 2016
Pre-school suspensions really happen and that's not ok with Connecticut...NPR
August, 2016
100,000 American kids still subject to corporal punishment...CBS News
August, 2016
A persistent practice: Corporal punishment in in U.S. schools...Education Week
August, 2016
Set to stun...Huffintgon Post
August, 2016
How feeling respected transforms a student's relationship to school...PBS Newshour
July, 2016
Update to NYC schools discipline code bans suspensions for K-2 students...Education World
July, 2016
It takes zero intelligence to still support zero tolerance in schools...Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
June, 2016
John King asks charters to lead in rethinking student discipline...The Tennessean
June, 2016
Discipline in private special education schools under investigation by California attorney general...EdSource
May, 2016
Kentucky schools to pay $1.75M after child's leg broken...ABC News
May, 2016
Virginia has a school suspension "crisis," report says...Richmond Times Dispatch
March, 2016
Corporal punishment in North Carolina's public schools: Almost gone and good riddance...NC Child
November, 2015
California has become a nationwide leader in better school discipline practices...Huffington Post
November, 2015
Why some LAUSD teachers are balking at a new approach to discipline problems...Los Angeles Times
November, 2015
Child abuse still permitted in schools...Care2
November, 2015
Schoolkids in handcuffs...New York Times
October, 2015
The hidden racism of school discipline, in seven charts...Vox Education
October, 2015
The preschool to prison pipeline: Black kids face punishment as young as 3...Toronto Star
October, 2015
Video of student arrest in South Carolina puts focus on school officers...New York Times
September, 2015
Activists hail new law on school discipline; districts say few changes needed...Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
September, 2015
Report highlights racial disparities in school discipline -- once again...Southern Poverty Law Center
August, 2015
Five facts everyone should know about the school-to-prison pipeline...Education Week
August, 2015
Illinois governor signs sweeping school discipline reform...Huffington Post
August, 2015
U.S. Schools are too focused on standardized tests, poll says...Washington Post
July, 2015
Miami-Dade school eliminating out-of-school suspensions...StateImpact
July, 2015
Denver is leading the way in dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. Here's how...Huffington Post
July, 2015
Bad behavior: Critics say kids get away with too much under Madison school district's new policy...CAP Times
May, 2015
Bill that would curb suspensions of youngest public school students clears Senate committee...The Advocate
April, 2015
"I wish my teacher knew": Poignant notes from students...Washington Post
March, 2015
Backing away from zero tolerance...New York Times
March, 2015
As awareness of the school-to-prison pipeline rises, some schools rethink the role of police...ACLU Blog of Rights
February, 2015
Suspension rules altered in New York City's revision of school discipline code...New York Times
February, 2015
Report fauls charter school rules on discipline of students...New York Times
January, 2015
Texas boy suspended for saying he could make classmate 'disappear' with 'Lord of Rings' sorcery...New York Daily News
January, 2015
Debunking school discipline myths...Seattle Times
January, 2015
Handcuffs, leg shackles, and tasers: The new face of punishment in the public schools...The Blaze
January, 2015
UF study condemns physically punishing students, which is still legal in Florida schools...Independent Florida Alligator
January, 2015
To improve school discipline, change teacher behavior...Slate.
January, 2015
Big drop in number of California students who are suspended, expelled...Los Angeles Times
January, 2015
Missouri state senator wants to strike down practice of corporal punishment in schools...WDAF-TV Kansas City
January, 2015
Minority, disabled kids hit most by teachers in U.S....Affect Magazine
December, 2014
Race debate should include school discipline...USA Today
December, 2014
Suspending kids doesn't fix bad behavior; Schools look for answers...Seattle Times
December, 2014
Schools' discipline for girls Differs by race and hue...New York Times
December, 2014
Changing tardiness policies could reduce racial disparities in school discipline, panel says...Tampa Bay Times
November, 2014
Why is my child punished? Finding solutions to uneven discipline in Utah's schools...Deseret News
November, 2014
Charter schools suspend more than traditional schools...Boston Globe
November, 2014
Should Arkansas schools still use corporal punishment?...KATV
November, 2014
Human toll of school suspensions is devastating...City Newspaper, Rochester, NY
November, 2014
Three students earn 10-day suspensions for possession of candy after Halloween...Western Journalism
November, 2014
States listen as parents give rampant testing an F...READ the story from the New York Times.
October, 2014
Pipeline to prison: Special education too often leads to jail for thousands of American children...Hechingter Report
July, 2014
My son has been suspended five times. He's 3...Washington Post
July, 2014
Zero tolerance policies are destroying the lives of black children...Washington Post
June, 2014
NYC cops are putting kids on the fast route to prison...Vice News
June, 2014
National data confirm use of restraint and seclusion in public schools...NPR
June, 2014
Violent and legal: The shocking ways school kids are being pinned down, isolated against their will...ProPublica
June, 2014
Protesters want zero tolerance discarded in Ohio schools...Columbus Dispatch
June, 2014
School board votes to keep corporal punishment...The Herald Chronicle
June, 2014
Schools urged to spare the rod on suspensions...Washington Times
May, 2014
Black and Hispanic students punished more severely than white counterparts...Mint Press News
May, 2014
Hundreds march to protest school-to-prison pipeline...Chicagoist
May, 2014
Segregation 2.0: America's school-to-prison pipeline...MSNBC
April, 2014
Local woman advocates to ban paddling in schools...The Steward Houston Times
April, 2014
Students, parents challenge zero-tolerance policies...USA Today
April, 2014
Just say no: Grove school board votes 3-2 to deny reinstatement of corporal punishment...GrandLakesNews.com
April, 2014
Studies confirm the dehumanization of black children and the 'Preschool-to-Prison-Pipeline'...TruthDig
Click here for the many prior Good and Bad News entries for schools.
RESTRICTIVE THERAPEUTIC FACILITIES IN THE NEWS:
October, 2017
Mom of teen who died at South Carolina juvenile camp demands justice...CBS News
October, 2017
Dark secrets of Florida juvenile justice: 'honey-bun hits,' illicit sex, coverups...Miami Herald
September, 2016
Court costs can push kids deeper into justice system, report says...Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
August, 2016
The unlikely reason Arkansas' juvenile justice system is behind the times...Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
July, 2016
How America's criminal justice system became the country's mental health system*...Vox
April, 2016
Kansas overhalls juvenile justice system, emphasizes community-based reinvestment...Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
August, 2015
Watchdog urges ban on placing youth in solitary confinement for over 24 hours...The Globe and Mail
August, 2015
Connecticut DCF under scrutiny for illegal use of restraints, isolation in juvenile facilities...WSHU
May, 2015
Lawsuit leads to new limits on solitary confinement in prisons in Illinois...New York Times
December, 2014
End solitary confinement for teenagers...New York Times
April, 2014
In CA, an effort to stop locking up truants...Public CEO
March, 2014
Feds sue Ohio over seclusion at juvenile jails...Lancaster Eagle Gazette
February, 2014
Treatment must be focus for delinquent girls...Sioux City Journal
July, 2013:
Youths isolated and 'forgotten' at the Iowa Juvenile Home...Des Moines Register
Click here for the many prior Good and Bad News entries for restrictive therapeutic facilities
TREATMENT IN THE NEWS:
November, 2018
Spanking is still really common and still really bad for kids...The Atlantic
July, 2015
Drug company accused of altering study by top SickKids pediatrician...Toronto Star
July, 2015
Antipsychotics too often prescribed for aggression in children...NPR
March, 2015
Hug it out: Experts warn against physically punishing children...Public News Service
February, 2015
This barber will publicly shame your misbehaving kid with an old man's haircut...Washington Post
December, 2014
ADHD drugs increasingly prescribed to treat hyperactivity in preschoolers...The Guardian
December, 2014
Time's up for 'timeout'...The Atlantic
December, 2014
Harsh punishment For lying compels kids to lie more, for fear of future punishment...Medical Daily
May, 2014
Ending corporal punishment: Why you should never spank a child...Philly.com
April, 2014
Children admitted to adult psychiatric units despite new rules to cease practice...The Irish Times
November, 2013
Kids' psychiatric visits a growing concern...MedPage Today
LEGISLATION, POLICY, & SOCIETY IN THE NEWS:
September, 2016
NC schools end corporal punishment in all but two counties...Daily Tar Heel
August, 2016
How can 12-year-olds be adults?...Huffington Post
June, 2016
Mum who whipped kid hailed as "model parent"...MSN
January, 2015
When the sentence fits the crime but not the kid...Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
January, 2015
The overuse of suspension in American public schools threatens the success of all students...London School of Economics and Political Science
December, 2014
The unbelievable rise of single motherhood in America over the last 50 years...Washington Post
September, 2014
Yes, America, we can ban spanking...New York Daily News
July, 2014
Court rules it's "reasonable use of force" for parents to spank their kids...New York Daily News
May, 2014
Holder speaks out against solitary confinement of mentally-ill youths...Juvenile Justice Information Exchange
April, 2014
No spanking in schools across missouri under lawmaker's proposal...St. Louis Post Dispatch
February, 2014
First strike: Kansas lawmaker wants to legalize harder spanking of children...New York Daily News
January, 2014
Would new law make it too easy to kick kids out of school for arbitrary reasons? ...Norwalk Reflector