Lawmakers seek to reduce restraint incidents of special needs students. But does it go far enough?

Parents of special needs kids are concerned their children may be handcuffed, zip-tied, or worse while they’re at school, but Florida lawmakers are proposing new legislation that seeks to limit when mechanical restraints can be used and who can use them.

But at least one Clay County grandmother doesn’t believe the new legislation goes far enough.

The legislation is the latest change lawmakers are pushing to ensure students, especially those with special needs, are handled appropriately.

It all harkens back to an Orlando arrest in 2020.

The body camera footage of the arrest of 6-year-old Kaia Rolle, who was zip-tied and put in the back of a patrol car put the issue of child arrests on state lawmakers’ radar, especially when it comes to special needs students.

In the first four months of this school year, there were 2,175 incidents where special needs students in Florida were restrained.

In about 80 of those incidents, mechanical restraints like handcuffs, zip ties or straitjackets were used, but Florida lawmakers are looking to limit how often the restraints are used and who can use them.

“We want to make sure that no parent sends their child to school and the child comes home with bruises or the child comes home with some kind of distress because of something that could have be avoided,” said State Representative Rene Plasencia.

Plasencia is sponsoring a bill this year that would ensure only school resource and safety officers, guardians and security guards are authorized to use mechanical restraints on special needs students.

It also only allows their use if the student’s behavior is causing an imminent risk of serious injury to themselves or others.

“They’re not looking at all of the scenarios,” said Dinna Toth, a Clay County grandmother.

Toth is raising her special needs grandson.

She believes mechanical restraints should never be used on special needs students.

“My concern is he’ll get hurt and I don’t care if they say that it’s only going to be the officer that’s at the school doing it or whatever.”

While mechanical restraints haven’t been used on her grandson, who is only in kindergarten, she fears what could happen when he’s older.

“I’m sorry, the officer reports to the principal and does whatever the principal says. Right or wrong his job is based off of what the principal wants him to do,” said Toth.

But under current law, any school employee could technically use mechanical restraints.

Lawmakers hope by limiting those with the authority, better judgment calls will be made.

It’s that hope that earned the legislation unanimous bipartisan approval in its first committee stop Thursday morning.

The bill still has two more stops before a full vote on the House floor.

It also still has to clear all three committee stops in the Florida Senate.

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