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Picture a 5-year-old, sitting all alone in a 5-by-6-foot room at school, with the door locked. Hard to imagine, right? And yet that is what can happen if the current version of the Minnesota Senate's omnibus education policy bill is passed.

Two years ago, Minnesota took a step in the right direction by banning seclusion and suspension of our youngest learners in kindergarten through third grade (it remained an option for older students). This law recognized that isolating 5-year-olds in small, confined spaces doesn't teach them to regulate emotions; it just teaches them to fear school.

Now, that progress is under threat. On April 24, the Minnesota Senate passed an amendment in the omnibus bill to allow the use of seclusion to be written explicitly in a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP). The amendment was passed without a hearing, public testimony, or input from students with disabilities and their families or advocates.

Seclusion is exclusively used on students with disabilities in Minnesota and disproportionately affects students of color. Seclusion rooms are registered with the state and must be at least 6 feet by 5 feet and ventilated. The room must be empty, and the child is locked in the room or blocked from exiting. According to the most recent restrictive procedures legislative report, Minnesota saw 3,938 instances of seclusion of school-aged children during the 2022-23 school year. Although Black students make up 11.9% of the student population, they experience 20% of those seclusions. These crises are traumatic for everyone in the school and contribute to students feeling unsafe, sometimes reinforcing escalated responses during times of distress.

We don't give permission to adults to do things we know are harmful to children. Yet that's just what this amendment will do. The use of seclusion causes trauma, escalation, isolation, injury and in some heartbreaking cases, worse. Families call the organization where I work, the PACER Center, and share their stories of how seclusion at school has traumatized their children, causing them to be anxious and not want to go to school. While this amendment would require parental consent to be added in the IEP, many families do not fully understand how to voice their objection.

This legislation is harmful, and we don't need it. There are already exceptions that allow school staff to take necessary steps to protect everyone in an emergency.

We already know what works: building positive relationships that foster trust and communication, providing early interventions before a situation spirals into crisis and investing in staff training that use trauma-informed responses to de-escalate situations.

A student who is fidgeting, unable to stay seated, focus on the lesson or work, or has their head down on their desk might need to take a movement break, or get a drink of water. A student making negative comments about themselves, or the work, might need validation to boost their self-confidence and some help from a trusted adult to work through a challenge. These can be early signs of dysregulation that if left unaddressed can escalate into a crisis. When school staff are able to observe and respond to meet their needs rather than react to the behavior, we can help students stay safe without exclusionary discipline-like seclusion.

It's past time we stopped punishing children for having disabilities and instead ensure all schools are equipped to meet the needs of their students. If we truly believe in providing equal access to education for all students, we need to invest in policies that reflect those values. That means funding staff training, mental health support, and inclusive practices — not doubling down on harmful, outdated discipline.

Behavior is communication. When children and young people with disabilities do not have the support they need in place to meet their individual needs in school, it can lead to crisis situations. Better solutions exist.

We urge lawmakers to strike this provision from the final education policy bill.

Laura Jean is a manager of the Parent Training and Advocacy Department and the public policy coordinator for PACER Center. She has a Bachelor of Science in child psychology from the University of Minnesota and a master's in public affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.