Reply #453: That's the problem, I think.

[tblue37]

The schools are so limited in what they can do to manage a child these days. No matter what they do, they are subject to a lawsuit. That's why they end up calling in the cops.

It's an absurd situation, and handcuffing was beyond the pale, although as I explain in an earlier post, a 9-year-old was handcuffed here in Lawrence because he was so out of control he broke the principal's writst and the cops couldn't get him safely out of the room without applying enough force that it would risk hurting him. Naturally they didn't want to do that, so they cuffed him to make it possible to move him safely.

But a large, violent 9-year-old who has already significantly harmed an adult is not the same as a tiny, 40-pound 5-year-old. That child could have been removed without the cuffs.

I do think the AP could have handled the child better, but she was actually following approved procedures. The procedures aren't effective, but if she had departed from them, no doubt she would have been in trouble with someone.

Basically, the schools are forced into a corner where the best they can do is follow procedure to the letter, so that when the lawsuits come (as they inevitably do, no matter what the teacher or administrators do), they can at least use the defense that they were following approved procedures.