BPS suspends 3 for strapping student to chair
Boston Public School officials are investigating a “deeply concerning” incident involving a preschool student who was strapped to a chair by at least one teacher, and multiple staffers have been placed on leave while the probe plays out.
The Herald was told three staff members, at least one of whom is a teacher, at the James F. Condon School in South Boston have been placed on leave after duct tape and nylon straps were used to restrain a “very young” student to a chair in a classroom.
The school district confirmed the existence of an investigation on Sunday, three days after officials sent a letter to K0/K1, or pre-kindergarten families at Condon, informing them of an incident that involved an “inappropriate use of restraints.”
“I want to reassure you that this matter is being fully addressed consistent with school and district policies,” Region 2 School Superintendent Mary Driscoll wrote in the Thursday letter. “The BPS Office of Specialized Services is in direct contact with the school to support staff with proper district protocols regarding the use of student restraints.
“As you know, the Condon K-8 School is working to provide all students with learning opportunities in safe and welcoming spaces,” the letter said.
Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper denounced the incident in a Sunday statement, and Mayor Michelle Wu, speaking to reporters before taking her kids to a BPS Sundays event at the New England Aquarium, made similar remarks.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our No. 1 priority,” Skipper said. “This incident is deeply concerning and goes against our values and policies as a school district. We understand how difficult this has been for both our student and their family, and we will continue to work directly with them to provide all the support they need to feel safe and continue learning at BPS.”
Skipper said the district took “immediate action” after learning of the incident, which involved placing “staff members on leave.”
“Our investigation remains ongoing, and we want to reassure all BPS families that we are working with our entire community to ensure that every student feels safe, secure and welcome,” Skipper said.
While details surrounding the nature of the incident are unclear, the letter indicates that the student is receiving support through the Office of Specialized Services, which was formerly referred to as the district’s special education department.
It was unclear whether unattached straps were taped to the chair to restrain the student, or if the chair was similar to therapeutic ones used in special education classrooms for students with physical issues to help them sit up straight for lessons.
Two years ago, a Pennsylvania school district’s special education department came under fire from parents for using restraining chairs for behavioral purposes, rather than for the physical needs of special needs students as intended.
Anacelia Cuevas, mother of the 3-year-old boy, told WBZ-TV she has pulled her son, who has special needs, out of the Condon school and plans to sue the district.
“The system failed my son,” Cuevas told the station. “My son is not an animal, my son is not a criminal. He’s just a baby.”
Mayor Wu said officials don’t have all the details yet, given that the matter is under investigation, but said her understanding was that “something happened that is against the policies of our schools as well as the values of how to keep our young people safe and cared for.”
“That is under investigation and we will follow up directly with those families, and just want to make sure that all of our young people and their caregivers and their loved ones know that school should be a place where they have every opportunity to blossom and no concerns at all about safety or anything like that,” Wu said.
City Councilor-at-Large Erin Murphy said she hasn’t been briefed on the matter, but stated that in her “24 years as a special education teacher, many times I had students who were dysregulated and I never needed to use duct tape.”
“I hope the child is safe,” Murphy said, “and that the investigation gives us more information to understand why the teachers thought that was necessary.”