To The Editor:
"Prone (i.e., lying face down) restraints or other restraints that restrict breathing should never be used because they can cause serious injury or death," Page 16,"Restraint and Seclusion Resource Document" US Dept of Ed, 2012. The document is referenced on the VT AOE website, so school administrators should be well aware of it. No matter how well trained, people make mistakes. While fatal mistakes occur in only a small percentage of prone restraints, children have died from them.
AOE currently requires immediate reporting of prone restraints to the Secretary of Education on a six-page form. I suggest that the cost and availability of video recording equipment is low enough that AOE should require all restraints to be videoed from start to finish. A school district that relies on prone restraints raises serious questions about the competency of the district's administration.
Michael McGuirk
Warren
