DCFS Fields Abuse Allegations At Gages Lake School: Report

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Reports of abuse and the use of seclusion spaces, which are rooms where students are taken for punishment and sometimes left for long periods of time, have been running rampant at Gages Lake School, according to an investigation and article published Thursday by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune. Since mid-May, there have been 21 abuse investigations opened by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services involving students at Gages Lake School, which is a public school that offers programs for children in preschool through sixth grade with significant emotional and behavioral needs.

ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune reports:

Citing evidence from surveillance video, agency reports describe workers grabbing children by the wrists, shoving them into walls and throwing them to the ground in a cluster of four seclusion spaces — some with lockable doors, others open — that the school calls “the office.” Two aides at the center of the investigations resigned from the school. One of them is facing criminal charges; Lake County prosecutors allege he used excessive force on students.

Nicholas Izquierdo, the former Special Education District of Lake County paraprofessional, has been charged with six counts of reckless conduct for allegations he used excessive force and injured four students at the school.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into Izquierdo, 30, of the 2900 block of West Glen Flora Avenue in Waukegan, after the parents of a 7-year-old child reported they believed their child was injured by Izquierdo while their son was a student at Gages Lake School.

During the investigation, more incidents were uncovered while reviewing video surveillance, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Additional parents also came forward alleging their children were handled excessively by Izquierdo, according to the news release.

"The investigation revealed Izquierdo did not use proper techniques and acted recklessly on six separate occasions that led to children receiving minor injuries," according to a statement from the sheriff's office. "During several instances, Izquierdo grabbed a child by the leg and pulled, causing the child to fall to the ground. In other instances, Izquierdo pushed or pulled a child, causing the child to fall or strike a wall. Izquierdo also grabbed a child by the arm and twisted it."

One of the children, a 7-year-old Gurnee boy, initially told his father his "butt hurt" after a school aide made him fall, according to the ProPublica and Chicago Tribune article. The father did not see any obvious injuries but the boy's parents contacted school officials. They were told the boy had slipped and fallen during an encounter with a school aide. But the family demanded to see surveillance video.

The video showed the boy in one of the school's "calming rooms," which were also referred to as "the office," and Izquierdo allegedly leaning down and grabbing the boy by the ankles, causing him to fall, according to the article. The boy, who has behavioral disabilities and ADHD, later told DCFS investigators he was put in the room after he ran instead of walking in a hallway, disobeying directions given to him.

An April video obtained by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune shows a school aide using a seclusion room at Gages Lake School to punish a 7-year-old boy. His parents did not learn about this incident until almost a month after it happened, the news organizations reported.

Warning: The content in this video could be disturbing to some.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) took emergency action to end the use of isolated seclusion in Illinois schools in mid-November, after an investigation and initial article by the Chicago Tribune brought the widespread practice to light.

The ISBE also promised at that time to improve data collection on all instances of time-out and physical restraint in schools, as well as immediately begin investigating known cases of isolated seclusion, according to a statement from the state board of education. Regarding those instances, the ISBE would take "appropriate disciplinary and corrective action."

“The data and stories from students and parents are appalling, inexcusable, and deeply saddening,” said State Superintendent of Education Carmen I. Ayala. “The practices of time out and physical restraint have been misused and overused to a shocking extent..."

Gov. JB Pritzker backed the "immediate action to ban isolated seclusion in Illinois schools, investigate any case where isolated seclusion was used illegally in the past, and mandate strict reporting on any form of time-out moving forward."

“Isolated seclusion will end now; it traumatizes children, does lasting damage to the most vulnerable and violates the most deeply held values of my administration and the State of Illinois. The use of this unacceptable practice in districts around the state for several years is appalling, and I am demanding complete and immediate accountability,” Governor JB Pritzker said in the mid-November statement.

Unlawful use of time-out and restraint includes using these practices as a form of punishment, according to the ISBE. Time-out and restraint are lawful only when used to protect the safety of students and staff in certain rare crisis situations. ISBE will take action against any educational entity serving public school students that is violating these regulations.

“As educators, we work hard to make our schools trauma-responsive – but first and foremost, our schools must be trauma-free,” Ayala said. “Our schools must be places where all students feel and are safe."

This past week, the Illinois State Board of Education proposed permanent rules for time out and restraint meant to protect the safety of all students and staff in Illinois schools. The proposed rules will permanently ban prone restraints, which are not necessary to safely de-escalate crisis situations, according to the ISBE.

Some of the rules specified under these changes are:

• Time outs may only occur in an unlocked space with a trained adult in the room. The rules will require that a student in time out must have reasonable access to food, medication, and toileting facilities and that the adult supervising the time out must assess every 15 minutes whether the student has ceased presenting dangerous behavior.
• Restrictions on time out do not pertain to student-initiated breaks; sensory breaks; brief removals to the hallway; or to appropriate disciplinary measures, such as in-school suspensions and detentions.
• To ban supine restraints, except in emergency situations when less restrictive interventions have been tried and not succeeded in stopping the imminent danger to students or staff. The rules will require that a trained adult who is not involved in the physical holding of the student observe the student during the entire incident of supine restraint.

More information on the proposed changes can be found on the ISBE's website.

In addition, the state board of education is seeking the public's comment on the proposal. Public comment on the proposed rules may be submitted to ISBE via email at rules@isbe.net, by phone, by physical mail, or to anyone in the agency through Feb. 4.

The emergency rules that are currently in effect will expire on April 17.

More via the ProPublica/Chicago Tribune article