Mat-Su school district reaches partial settlement in disabled students suit

What you need to know:

• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District has agreed to a partial settlement in a lawsuit alleging it illegally restrains and isolates students with disabilities and fails to provide required notifications of those incidents.
• Under the settlement, the district must notify parents or guardians the same day a student is restrained or isolated, provide a written report within three days, and maintain electronic records of such incidents.
• State law and district policy permit restraint and isolation only in situations involving “imminent danger,” and require prompt notification and written documentation. The settlement addresses the portion of the lawsuit focused on parental notifications. Litigation continues over the broader use of restraint practices on students with disabilities.

PALMER – Mat-Su school officials have agreed to a partial settlement in a 2023 lawsuit alleging the district illegally restrains and isolates students with disabilities in violation of state law and district policy, and fails to properly notify parents of such incidents.

The settlement requires Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District officials to notify a parent or guardian the same day a student is restrained or isolated, provide a written report within three days, and electronically track such incidents, according to court documents.

The agreement resolves part of a class-action lawsuit against the district and three employees filed in late 2023 by the Northern Justice Project and the parents of a student at Shaw Elementary on behalf of themselves, their child, and other district students with disabilities and their parents.

The parents allege their child was illegally restrained and isolated during the 2022-23 school year. They were not notified of the incidents until months later, the lawsuit states.

State law and Mat-Su policy require students to be restrained or isolated only in emergencies or when there is “imminent danger.” The law also requires officials to notify parents or guardians the same day, prepare written reports, and submit annual incident totals to state education officials.

The lawsuit alleges the district does not consistently provide that documentation and permits a “pattern and practice of restraining and secluding students with disabilities as a routine response to maladaptive behaviors.”

The settlement resolves the portion of the lawsuit representing parents of students with disabilities who are restrained by the district, attorneys with the Northern Justice Project said in an interview.

The settlement reaffirms existing state and district parental notification rules while adding specific timelines and incident-tracking requirements, attorneys said. It also mandates that the district provide periodic tracking updates to attorneys in the case, they said.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason granted preliminary approval of the agreement Wednesday.

A separate portion of the lawsuit representing students with disabilities and seeking changes to restraint practices has not yet been settled.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com