Complaint Summary

Date Findings Report Sent

December 19, 2025

Case number

26-0203

School District

New Haven Public Schools

Person filing the complaint

Attorney

Grade Level

High school

Allegation(s)

According to the Attorney, the Student was improperly restrained on October 23, 2025. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-236b(b))

Conclusion(s)

In this case, the Student was restrained twice in February 2025 using mechanical restraints (a belt), a method explicitly prohibited in Connecticut. Although the PPT later documented that this technique would no longer be used, the Parent witnessed a belt being used again on October 23, 2025. While the Parent received verbal notifications of restraint incidents, he was never provided written reports, nor were the incidents reported to the CSDE within the required 48-hour timeframe. Furthermore, the investigation revealed eight draft restraint reports in CT-SEDS, dated between August 28, 2025, and October 23, 2025, none of which were finalized or shared with the family. Therefore, the District is in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 10-236b(b) and 10-236b(i). Corrective action is required.

Corrective Action(s)

If the District has not already contacted the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), then the District shall immediately contact the DCF and report the October 23, 2025, incident to the Careline at 1-800-842-2288, in accordance with mandated reporting requirements.

The District shall immediately assign a dedicated Registered Behavior Technician, trained and supervised by a BCBA, to support the Student throughout the entire school day. This support is intended to ensure the safety of both the Student and school staff and to promote a stable educational environment.

The PPT team will develop a safety plan for the Student that prohibits the use of unlawful restraint. The safety plan will be created by January 16, 2026. The District will submit a copy of the safety plan to this office.

The District is obligated to fully implement the Student’s IEP. However, any individual found to have engaged in the unlawful use of emergency restraint with the Student is prohibited from working with the Student.

The District’s point of contact for the emergency use of restraint and seclusion must provide documentation that all staff involved with the Student are trained in de-escalation strategies and the proper use of emergency restraint and seclusion procedures. Additionally, the District point of contact must submit to this office written documentation detailing how and why the unlawful restraint occurred. This explanation must include:

• a timeline of events leading to the incident;
• identification of staff involved;
• an analysis of procedural failures or gaps;
• steps the District will take to prevent recurrence; and
• the person will submit the information by January 15, 2026.