RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A state Senate subcommittee unanimously approved a proposal Monday to develop statewide regulations governing the use of seclusion and restraint in Virginia public schools. The panel acted after hearing from a series of speakers who said the techniques for controlling students’ unruly behavior are being abused in some school divisions. Among them was a 9-year-old boy who told of being sent repeatedly to a “crisis room” by his first-grade principal and was so traumatized by the experience that he didn’t want to go to school anymore. The measure introduced by Sen. Barbara Favola, an Arlington Democrat. It would direct the state Board of Education to develop regulations restricting use of the techniques and laying out requirements for training school personnel and notifying parents when the techniques are used.
