physical restraints
Coverage of physical restraints in the Nexus archive.
- Colorado may tighten the rules for specialized facility schools serving students with intense needs
Colorado's state board is considering stricter regulations for facility schools serving students with intense needs after a school faced sanctions over physical restraint complaints. The Austin Centers for Exceptional Students, which opened in Colorado in 2024, has been sued multiple times in Arizona for alleged staff misconduct. Proposed changes include requiring legal history disclosures and giving the board discretion to approve or deny applications.
- Colorado needed more specialized schools. Now this one is facing scrutiny for restraining students.
The Austin Centers for Exceptional Students (The ACES) in Colorado faces scrutiny for physically restraining students, including an 11-year-old boy with autism who described being pinned in a distressing manner. The school, part of a new 'specialized day school' category, is under state sanctions and losing funding after complaints, with parents and advocates criticizing its practices as unsafe and coercive.