MSN

A public school district in northern New York broke state education regulations at least six times when it chose to confine students with disabilities in padded, wooden boxes in the classroom, an investigation by the New York State Education Department found. The state ordered the Salmon River Central School District to change its policies and special education practices by this fall and to submit paperwork demonstrating its compliance. State investigators found five students with disabilities were placed in the large boxes “with the door held shut,” an act that constitutes seclusion, a practice banned by education regulations in New York. The release of the state report is the latest development in a months-long saga that resulted in criminal investigations, the introduction of new legislation, condemnation from the governor, and the departures of multiple school administrators in the district since mid-December, when photos of one of the crates emerged on Facebook.

The state’s conclusions differ from the findings released by an attorney hired by the school district to review the use of the boxes. That attorney determined the boxes had been used this school year on two students who usually chose to go into the boxes and stay there.