ALBANY -- The New York State Education Department has reacted to CNY Central's stories about the use of "time out rooms" in Oswego County, and issued a reminder to all special education programs about the correct rules and regulations governing the rooms.
The reminder came from the Office of Special Education in Albany. It is the first policy change or reminder on time out rooms in nearly six years.
In an email, Jane Briggs of the State Education Department said, "as a result of the incident, we felt a reminder to the field on the state's requirements would be helpful."
The reminder comes in the wake of the Oswego County BOCES program shutting down time out rooms at the Fourth Street School in Fulton after Jim Kenyon interviewed a mother who was upset about the conditions in the room and the harm that may have been done to her child.
A state investigation revealed the rooms were in violation of several of the basic standards for utilizing such spaces for students with special needs.
Click here to read the State Education Department's update on the time out room policy.
