PHYSICAL EDUCATION: AMENDING THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT TO RESTRICT RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS

There are no federal laws restricting the use of restraint or seclusion in public or private schools. Such laws exist at the state level, but the specifics vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Federal legislation is necessary in order to ensure that students are not treated differently in each state based on legislative disparities between those states. The lack of a uniform standard for restraint and seclusion subjects students, a disproportionate number of whom have disabilities, to unreasonable physical control by other persons. These practices convey punishment, fear, abandonment, and provide little positive benefits. The amendment proposed in this Note will ensure that seclusion and restraint are only used when the student poses a direct threat to the health or safety of him or her self or others. Staff must be trained in the safe and proper use of these procedures so that they are performed in a reasonable manner, including utilization for a limited amount of time and the exhaustion of positive disciplinary alternatives prior to the utilization of these procedures. Furthermore, parental consent to the use of these procedures is imperative.     

PRIVATIZING PUNISHMENT: TESTING THEORIES OF PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE PRISON AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES

The transfer of authority over the supervision of inmate populations from state and federal governments to private corporations is one of the most significant contemporary developments in the criminal justice system. Yet, the controversy surrounding the private prison industry has occurred in U.S. criminal justice policy circles without any understanding of the public's preferences toward these institutions. In this article, we test several theories that potentially explain opinions toward privatizing carceral institutions: the racial animus, business is better, conflict of interest, and problem‐escalation models. These models are tested with original data from the 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey. The data show that opinions toward the privatization of carceral institutions do not neatly fall along partisan or ideological divisions but are explained by beliefs about racial resentment, corporate ethics, and the potential ability of private companies to provide services cheaper than the public sphere. The results hold important implications for how we understand the future of private carceral institutions in the United States.