SALT LAKE CITY — When Stephanie Merrill read the first substitute of a bill that would ban seclusion in Utah schools, she was “completely overjoyed.”
“It took me totally by surprise,” added her husband, Craig Merrill, in a recent interview with FOX 13 News. “I thought, ‘Wow, finally somebody is speaking up and addressing an issue that needs to be addressed.’”
But the couple’s initial excitement that lawmakers may move to end seclusion — a behavioral intervention used to isolate students from their peers, sometimes in a small, padded room — was quickly dampened when the bill, SB170, was amended again on the Senate floor.
The current version of the bill now moving through the state Legislature allows seclusion. If approved, it would put into state law many of the same guardrails that are already in place under the Utah State Board of Education’s rules — including allowing the practice only when a child poses an imminent safety risk to themselves or others.
VIDEO BELOW: Utah students speak out about their experiences in seclusion
Utah students speak out about their experiences in seclusion
When she read the bill’s second substitute, “I was completely disappointed,” said Stephanie Merrill, a South Jordan mother of twin 8-year-old boys who has become a vocal opponent of seclusion since learning of its use last year.
“Until seclusion is prohibited by the Utah State Board of Education in all charter schools and public schools in Utah, I won’t be happy,” she added.
The state’s current rules limit seclusion to no more than 30 minutes at a time, require staff supervision of a student throughout, and mandate that a teacher disclose every instance of isolation to the student’s parents and school administrators.
Sen. Luz Escamilla, the bill’s sponsor, told her colleagues on the Senate floor that she had worked with stakeholders “to encompass a lot of what’s already in practice.”
“But we want to make sure everybody’s on the same page of what’s expected,” she added. “We are hoping that these become more isolated situations of using this type of intervention, but we know in some instances it’s needed.”
Teachers like Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, have told FOX 13 News previously that seclusion can be necessary to protect students and staff, especially as educators say behavioral problems have worsened in their classrooms since the pandemic.
While SB170 would codify much of existing practice, it would also strengthen some language around seclusion – specifying that it can’t be used for “coercion, retaliation, or humiliation” or “due to inadequate staffing or for the staff member’s convenience.”
It would also require additional record-keeping, including of what behavioral interventions an educator attempted before turning to seclusion.
“They will have to describe the circumstances [of seclusion], have staff members authorized to use seclusion be the ones that are going to practice this and monitor the whole process, notify parents,” Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said of the legislation.
Teachers would also be required under the bill to ensure “that the less restrictive interventions were first utilized, and if failed, this is your last resort,” she continued. “So we are just clarifying what I think we should all be very clear: that seclusion is a practice that should not be used for disciplinary purposes.”
Overall, Utah school districts and charter schools reported using seclusion more than 1,300 times in the 2020-2021 school year, according to a FOX 13 News analysis of the most recent federal data available on the practice. That data shows most of those instances were among elementary school children and students with disabilities.
Opponents have long raised concerns about the disproportionate use of seclusion on these students, as well as the long-term emotional impacts on those who are put in isolation and the potential for misuse.
“Certainly we’ve seen cases where it has been overutilized to the detriment of students with disabilities,” said Nate Crippes, an attorney with the Disability Law Center. “And so I think we’re concerned with its practice even with the parameters, because they are not always, I think, followed.”
Last month, the FOX 13 Investigates team reported that 15-year-old Kody Breider was put in seclusionary time-out in elementary school for behaviors that didn’t pose a serious safety risk.
In one case, documents show he was put in seclusion for running out into the school hallway. In another, he was taken to isolation for spraying hand sanitizer and refusing to sit at his desk. In that instance, the teacher said he would have to finish his time-out the next morning.
“Sometimes it has to be done,” Kody said of seclusion. “But like sometimes… most of the time it happened there, it was unnecessary or overdone.”
For the Merrills, hearing stories like his adds validation to their fears that the technique isn’t always being used appropriately.
“Seeing what has happened does not encourage my faith in the system,” Craig Merrill said. “Matter of fact, it’s done just the opposite.”
The Merrills said they’re disappointed that the Utah Legislature appears unlikely to follow the lead of lawmakers in states like Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada and Texas, who have either banned or severely limited the use of seclusion.
But they believe additional measures could be added to SB170 to prevent misuse – such as requiring video monitoring in special education classrooms to show a student’s behavior leading up to seclusion.
“If they had a camera, they could say, ‘This kid was doing this and I needed to do that’ and the camera would show it,” said Craig Merrill, a retired police officer. “Then there would be no problem.”
FOX 13 News sat down with Crippes, from the Disability Law Center, before the bill was amended to remove the prohibition on seclusion. At the time of that interview, Crippes said he was hopeful lawmakers would end seclusion, which he felt would send a positive message to the disability community.
But he also seemed prepared for the bill to go another way.
“I think we hear a lot about the state wanting to support kids and adults with disabilities,” Crippes said. “I think ultimately in practice, that isn’t always what we see in a lot of the decisions policymakers make.”
SB170 passed the Senate unanimously and is currently awaiting a hearing in the House Education Committee.