The legislature’s Education Committee approved a bill Friday that would track the use of controversial “scream rooms” in the state’s public schools.
Though there has been much debate in the state’s media about their use, the bill was moved to the House floor by unanimous approval in the committee.
The bill does not outlaw the use of scream rooms, but mandates that the state’s Department of Education track the use of scream rooms by local schools.
Local districts are currently mandated to document and report when they put children in seclusion, Rep. Andrew Fleischmann D-West Hartford explained, but some districts have been “less than careful” is the process, he said.
Sen. Len Suzio R-Meriden, did not object to the bill, but said that he hoped that the legislature would mandate more reporting criteria from the local schools, such as the number of students placed in seclusion, rather than just the amount of times seclusion rooms are used.
The use of “scream rooms” came to light earlier this year when a Parent Teacher Association president in Middletown wrote a letter to the superintendent complaining about the practice.