skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Goal: Fewer Restraints, Cop Calls at Holyoke School

play audio
Play

Monday, February 8, 2016   

HOLYOKE, Mass. - It is an agreement that should mean fewer students ending up in restraints and fewer cops being called to respond to discipline issues at Peck School in Holyoke.

Stanley Eichner is litigation director for the Disability Law Center, which launched an investigation into discipline practices concerning students with disabilities. He says a settlement agreement finalized last week should mean fewer kids end up being restrained when they act out at Peck School.

"This does not prohibit restraints totally," he says. "But between training and new protocols, we will look to make sure that they only use them when they are absolutely necessary."

The settlement between the Disability Law Center, Holyoke Public Schools and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education calls for the Law Center to monitor the use of restraints and other disciplinary practices for the next year.

Eichner says another goal of the agreement is to reduce the number of times police get called to the school. He says they will be monitoring the frequency and reasons for each call to the police.

"One of the problems that we had identified in our report was basically the criminalization of discipline," says Eichner. "So that too often, it was the case that youngsters were arrested by police rather than being disciplined in the school."

Eichner says he is concerned these restraint problems are occurring at both private and public schools across the state, and he thinks more needs to be done to restrict the practice. He says prone restraints are especially dangerous, and believes Massachusetts should follow the lead of other states in outlawing their use.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021