This is a Sanctuary?

It’s a small room lined in padding. It has no natural light, no fixtures of any kind, no door handle on the inside, and only one small unbreakable window in the door.

Am I describing a detention cell at Gitmo? A secured area in a mental institution? Sadly, no. The room I’m describing is located in a public elementary school.

Ox Ridge Elementary School in Darien Connecticut, to be exact. Paul and Lisbeth Ehrlich, parents of a 7-year-old autistic son who attends the school, found out about the room only after their son was secluded in it as punishment for his behavior. What was his crime? The 7-year-old, who is described as non-verbal and non-aggressive, was crying for his mother.

I make no secret of the fact that I have many problems with public education in the United States -- so many, in fact, that I am hesitant to bring the subject up for fear that it will dominate this blog (and seriously affect my blood pressure). But when 7-year-olds are required by law to attend institutions where they can be imprisoned in a padded room without parental knowledge or consent for the high crime of crying for their mother, its time to say something.

In fact, lots of people are saying something about this. The Ehrlich’s are suing -- not for monetary damages, but for the right for parents to be informed when the room is used, and for the development of guidelines governing the use of the room. Uh … OK … I guess I can support that, but how about disallowing the use of such rooms at all? Not likely, considering other parents speaking up in support of the room. One parent went on national television defending the room as a “sanctuary for the children”. Really? It’s a sanctuary? Then I’m going to have to get a new dictionary, because mine defines “sanctuary” as “a sacred place where one is immune to arrest”. How that describes a rubber room where a child is involuntarily detained escapes my understanding.

The Connecticut Senate is currently considering legislation that requires schools to report to parents and the State every time a student is secluded or restrained. Currently, unlike all other State agencies, schools are not required to do so. Personally, I would like to see legislation that prohibits the use of seclusion or restraint as a tool of discipline, but that’s just me.