Anna Werner CBS5
Holding school kids down to the floor or closing them in so-called "quiet rooms" are practices advocates say can have dangers for the children and should be reduced or even eliminated.
But they're still allowed under California law,and UTAH despite those advocates' efforts.
Naomi Liron says of her son, "He came home with three big pinch marks on his arm."
Liron says her 11-year-old son Reuben sustained injuries at school, like bruises on an arm, a rug burn on his face and emotional pain.very familiar
"He was depressed, very anxious and very depressed," says Liron.hmmmm..again-very familiar
Diagnosed with conditions including bipolar disorder and ADHD, Reuben attended the private Lincoln Child Center in Oakland, a school for children with special educational needs, for five years.
But his mother says it wasn't until earlier this year that she reallyunderstood what was happening with Reuben.
"I cried, when I read the incident reports," Liron said.(many of us never got these incident reports)
Those incident reports show how center staff at times restrained Reuben on the floor, in one report, holding him down for "ten minutes" after he misbehaved.
And on other occasions, how staff closed him into the "quiet room", where they noted he was "banging" and "ramming his body against the door."
In one report, a therapist wrote that he pleaded with her before being put in the room, "I love you, don't leave me, don't hurt me."
His mom says, "That's the one I cried the most about, because he's so desperate, and he's so scared."
Lincoln Child Center declined an on-camera interview about the case, citing confidentiality. In a statement, it says its ultimate goal is to keep children safe.
And under California law, restraining and even keeping children in those quiet rooms can be legal.
Which is why attorney Maggie Roberts, with Disability Rights California says, "I have great concerns."
Roberts is working on Reuben's case for Disability Rights California (formerly Protection and Advocacy).
According to Roberts, "They are reporting things that show that a child is very traumatized, and yet they continue to do it."
And a CBS5 investigation found similar incidents reported in schools across California and around the nation, in both public and private schools. Children have been locked in closets, or restrained, one even tied down with duct tape.
So last year, Roberts' group tried to change California law to limit those practices, and eliminate seclusion entirely. But Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to sign the bill authored by Senator Sheila Kuehl.
The governor said the bill could stop school employees "from intervening in an emergency and place more students at risk."
But disability rights' Leslie Morrison says:
"By vetoing the bill and allowing these practices to continue we have put teachers and students at great risk."
Morrison says her group is looking into still more cases even now, like that of a 12 year old girl held repeatedly in asmall room with bare walls and no windows in San Diego and an injury sustained by a 9 year old boy on his backside, after being dragged by a classroom aide in a district north of Los Angeles.
"I'm concerned that students will continue to be restrained and secluded, that these practices will be unregulated, unreported, staff won't be trained, and we will continue to see students injured and traumatized," Morrison said.
As for Naomi Liron, she's moved Reuben to another school.
"He (Reuben) has been very, very happy. He's a different kid," she said.
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