A decade-long effort to curb the use of seclusion and restraint on kids with disabilities could reach a conclusion this year, but the outcome may be disappointing for disability rights advocates.
Lawmakers are on the verge of banning seclusion practices, but Disability Rights Florida’s Caitlyn Clibbon worries there’s no ban on restraints like handcuffs, zip ties and straightjackets:
“It explicitly puts in the statute that you can use handcuffs, zip ties and straight jackets, and right now the statute does not explicitly allow those things. And it's arguable that the statute now disallows those things, depending on how you read it and where you put the comma.” Clibbon is concerned with bill language defining restraints and outlining when and how they can be applied to disabled children.
