nola.com

Louisiana schools would have to install cameras in special-education classrooms and stop putting students who have outbursts in separate “seclusion” rooms under a proposed law that advocates say provides some of the strongest protections for students with disabilities in the country. The legislation comes a year after a state audit found that Louisiana schools seclude and restrain students without any oversight, despite warnings that the practices can potentially harm students and violate their rights. During a tearful testimony, the bill’s author, Rep. Shane Mack, R-Livingston, told the House Education Committee Wednesday that his proposal would “improve the educational experience in Louisiana” for children with disabilities. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which several disability rights advocates and education leaders also spoke in favor of.

Note: While the original bill proposed would have banned the use of seclusion, a substitute bill presented to the committee restored the use of seclusion. The substitute version was the version voted on by the committee. Roe’s comments to the Committee cited by the author were made in reference to the original version of the bill and not the substitute version. Also, the reporter incorrectly states that Chris Roe, COPAA director of state policy, is an attorney.