The Quiet Rooms
Children Locked Away in Illinois Schools
The spaces have gentle names, like “the reflection room.” But shut inside them, schoolchildren as young as 5 wail for their parents, scream in anger and beg to be let out.
This investigation is a collaboration between ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune.
Featured
The Quiet Rooms
Children are being locked away, alone and terrified, in schools across Illinois. Often, it’s against the law.
Other Entries
Illinois Dramatically Limits Use of Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Schools
A new bill will ban school workers from locking children in seclusion spaces and limit most uses of isolated timeout and physical restraint. A ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation found widespread abuse of the practices in Illinois.
Illinois Continued to Seclude and Restrain Students This Year Even Though Many Schools Were Closed
Even during the coronavirus pandemic with limited in-person learning, staff at Illinois schools secluded and restrained students more than 15,000 times during the 2020-21 school year, new data shows.
Bill Banning Locked Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Illinois Schools Stalls as Lawmakers Run Out of Time
Illinois lawmakers pledge to try again to prohibit what one called “horrific and barbaric” methods of controlling students.
National Ban on School Use of Seclusion and Restraint of Students Introduced in Congress
Congressional Democrats introduced legislation to ban schools from using physical restraints that can restrict students’ breathing, and from using isolated timeout. ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune last year revealed the harms of these practices.
New Data Shows the Use of Seclusion and Restraint Increased in Illinois Schools During the 2017–18 School Year
As lawmakers prepare to debate a statewide ban on seclusion and restraint, Illinois schools reported using seclusion — the practice of forcibly isolating a student in a small room or other space — at least 10,776 times in the 2017–18 school year.
Bill to Ban Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Illinois Schools Gets Sidelined After Pushback From Administrators
After months of debate, lawmakers did not vote on a bill that would have banned the use of seclusion and restraint in Illinois schools. Administrators argued meeting with families for each incident burdens school workers.
How Often Do Schools Use Seclusion and Restraint? The Federal Government Isn’t Properly Tracking the Data, According to a New Report
A new report from the Government Accountability Office found the U.S. Department of Education’s attempts to determine how often schools use seclusion and restraint were “largely ineffective or do not exist.” That could put children at risk.
How a School Stopped Relying on Restraining and Isolating Students — and What Others Can Learn From It
Some Illinois schools say they need to keep using dangerous forms of physical restraint and student isolation. Here’s how one school system in Virginia successfully shifted its entire approach to safety — from face-down holds to bubble baths.
Lawmakers Vow to Push for a Statewide Ban on Face-Down Restraint of Children in Illinois Schools, Despite Reversal
After a group of schools pressured the Illinois State Board of Education to reverse its ban on a dangerous form of physical restraint of students, lawmakers say they’ll seek to permanently ban the practice.
Illinois Quietly Reversed Its Ban on a Dangerous Physical Restraint for Students
After a ProPublica Illinois and Chicago Tribune investigation sparked a statewide ban on some forms of seclusion and restraint of students, a small group of schools lobbied against the measure. And it worked.
An Employee at an Illinois School We Reported On Has Been Charged With Battering a 7-Year-Old Boy
A ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation found that schools throughout the state misused seclusion and restraint tactics against Illinois children. The criminal case is the second in the last year of an employee charged with mistreating a child.
Illinois Adopts Stricter Rules Against Secluding and Physically Restraining Students in Schools
The state board of education stopped short of a complete ban on seclusion after a small number of special education schools asked for more leeway in dealing with students.
School Employees Have Used Isolated Timeouts Illegally, State Investigations Find
In six of eight districts investigators examined, they found that workers broke the law by improperly secluding students. Parents say the investigations, which were prompted by a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois story, have not gone far enough.
Illinois Lawmakers Are Calling for a Nationwide Ban on Isolated Timeouts of Students
Four states currently ban the practice of secluding students at school. Illinois lawmakers want Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to make it 50. “This shouldn’t be controversial,” said U.S. Rep. Sean Casten.
Educators Push to Ban Seclusion of Students and Shift School Culture
Educators who testified before Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday agreed: Shutting students inside closet-sized rooms as punishment is never OK.
Inside a Training Course Where School Workers Learn How to Physically Restrain Students
While reporting on the use of physical restraint in schools, I wanted to understand if school workers properly used their training in the classroom. They often did not.
Schools Aren’t Supposed to Forcibly Restrain Children as Punishment. In Illinois, It Happened Repeatedly.
As Illinois moves to restrict the use of physical restraint in schools, records show the practice was often misused, leaving students and staff injured.
How We Reported This Story
We created the first-ever database of thousands of incidents of restraint and seclusion in Illinois.
A 7-Year-Old Complained About a Scary Office at School. This Is the Video His Parents Saw — a Month Later.
“I want accountability,” the boy’s father said. The video prompted one of 21 investigations into abuse at an Illinois school that secluded students more than 1,700 times last school year.
“None of the Children at the School Are Safe”
One school. 21 abuse investigations. And the struggle to stop relying on seclusion and restraint.
