Schools' use of timeout rooms questioned

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A New York legislator says the state should place more limits on schools' use of timeout rooms for students with developmental disabilities.

Assemblyman Steve Sanders, a New York City Democrat, said there should be time limits and rules to ensure that teachers cannot send youngsters to a timeout room simply because they are fed up.

Under current guidelines, rooms must be a certain size, parents should provide guidance when rooms are created and they should be notified when their children are sent to timeout rooms.

But a number of parents told the newspaper they were not notified, and complained of rooms the size of closets and of students being sent to timeout rooms over and over.

One mother said she was so upset when she saw a news photo of one of the rooms that she hired a lawyer.