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Below is a summary of a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) report about the Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD), which provides special education services for students with disabilities. There will be an opportunity for advocacy mentioned at the end.

Summary

The DOJ investigated SSD for about 21 months. It wanted to see how SSD used seclusion (putting a student alone in a room). These methods are supposed to be used only when someone is in immediate danger.

 On February 23, 2026, the DOJ reported that SSD broke Missouri law and its own rules by using seclusion too often, even when there was no physical danger.

Here’s what the DOJ found:

  • Over 2 school years, more than 300 students were secluded almost 4,000 times.
  • At some schools, students were secluded many times in one day. At a small school, every student experienced seclusion at least once.
  • Missouri law says seclusion should only be used if someone is in danger. However, the DOJ found they were used for minor behaviors like refusing to go to class, disrespect, or drawing on furniture.
  • Some students were secluded for long periods. One student spent over 100 hours in seclusion in a single year. Another was secluded more than 180 times.
  • Students missed important class time and learning while in seclusion.
  • Some students hurt themselves or talked about suicide while in seclusion, and staff didn’t always help right away.
  • The district may not have reported every incident, and some events might have been left out of official records.

Because of these findings, the DOJ asked SSD to:

  • Stop using seclusion in schools.
  • Only use restraint in real emergencies.
  • Improve support for students and keep better records.
  • Make sure students do not lose learning time.
  • Help students recover from physical and mental harm, trauma, and missed education.
  • Train staff to follow the law and meet students’ needs.

This is important because SSD serves more than 22,000 students in Missouri. The DOJ says SSD must change how it treats students with disabilities to ensure they are safe, respected, and able to learn.

Here’s what you can do: