Feds, Covington schools revise policy on restraints
Covington schools has new rules on how it will subdue unruly students under a settlement with the Justice Department.
COVINGTON – The Covington Independent School District has new rules on how it will subdue unruly students, based on a settlement the district reached with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Children's Law Center in Covington announced the settlement Thursday in a statement the organization said will address some of the concerns raised when two students were shackled by a school resource officer two years ago. The Children's Law Center, along with the American Civil Liberties Union and other agencies, sued a school resource officer and the Kenton County Sheriff's Department for handcuffing two children.
The case, still pending in federal court, made national news. The school district was not part of the lawsuit, which is still pending in federal court.
The school district and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the settlement.
US DOJ's settlement with Covington Schools
The U.S. Department of Justice, however, opened an investigation into the school's practices and sat down with school officials to hammer out a policy, according to the settlement. The result is a settlement that requires the school to change its policies before the 2017-2018 school year on use of restraints, seclusion of students and law enforcement officers. It also requires the school district to better identify students with disabilities who may need support.
Video shows officer handcuffing crying 3rd grader
Law enforcement officers in Covington schools will only intervene in a serious situation that "constitutes an imminent and substantial threat to physical safety or a serious crime," according to the settlement.
Any physical restraint of students by staff must be a last resort, the settlement stated.
"The District shall prohibit the use of physical restraint unless necessary to address an imminent danger to the physical safety of a student or another person," the settlement stated.
The district will also no longer isolate students in rooms, called "calm rooms," where a disruptive student is secluded, according to the settlement. Covington schools will have to appoint an "intervention coordinator" who will assist school staff in better addressing student behaviors.
The children in Covington's schools will benefit from this settlement, said Kim Tandy, executive director of the Children's Law Center, in a statement.
"Reliance on more punitive measures has been ineffective and harmful to kids," Tandy said in the statement.