Restraint Story Orlando Sentinel

April 11, 2011

If the story doesn't scare you, the video will. Don't even go to the comments.

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Orange schools restrain more kids than any county in Florida -- by far

By Postal and Roth, Orlando Sentinel

3:31 p.m. EDT, April 9, 2011

Ortaliz was a poster child for the United Cerebral Palsy charter school,

with his photo gracing a promotional flier the school put out last summer.

Born prematurely, suffered brain bleeds as an infant and, as a result, has

developmental delays and difficulty controlling his behavior.

had thrived at UCP's east Orange County campus since age 2. But two weeks

into his kindergarten year, school officials sent home after an incident.

His parents were stunned when, as they were helping him into the car that day,

the 5-year-old told them one of his teachers " pulls my arms. She hurts me. "

They were furious when school officials confirmed that their 42-pound son had

been restrained — physically held against his will by staff for behavior they

claimed was out of control and dangerous.

Orange schools have used restraint on and 195 other students 1,910 times

this school year — representing nearly a quarter of the 8,222 cases in Florida.

No school district employed the method nearly as much as Orange, where some

students were restrained repeatedly, according to new data from the Florida

Department of Education.

Statewide, 2,944 disabled students were restrained by teachers who used various

holds to force them to sit or to lie facedown on the floor. Sometimes a

strap-and-mat contraption was used to immobilize the children.

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