RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The story of a second-grader who was locked in a room at school has prompted the Virginia General Assembly to pass legislation to rein in the use of seclusion and restraint as methods of controlling children in public schools. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, is expected to soon sign the bill into law, making the state the 33rd to govern the use of seclusion and restraint in schools by law or regulation. Carson’s mother says he still has nightmares about the time four years ago when he was shut inside a concrete seclusion room at his school and emerged with a broken hand and foot. Critics say such techniques are almost always unnecessary to keep order in the classroom and are actually counterproductive, exposing kids to injury and long-term trauma.
