When parents envision a special room for a child in distress, they likely picture beanbag chairs, soft lighting, and toys. They couldn’t imagine a 5-by-6-foot concrete cell with a heavy metal door, magnetic locks, and no windows. Yet according to attorneys at the Minnesota Disability Law Center (MDLC), this is the reality of “seclusion rooms” in many Minnesota schools. These are stark rooms where a child can be involuntarily confined for hours.

In an interview with Access Press, MDLC staff detailed the findings in their new report, Children in Confinement, and the urgent legislative battle to protect the state’s most vulnerable students.

Stark, Empty, and Awful

There is lots of confusion between seclusion rooms and sensory rooms in schools. “Seclusion rooms are stark and empty and awful looking,” Jessica Heiser, supervising attorney for MDLC’s Education Team, explains. “Sensory rooms are colorful and fun and have toys. You’re there with another adult who is co-regulating with you.”

In contrast, seclusion rooms are often built with cinderblock walls and concrete floors for “ease of cleaning,” implying an expectation that children will be so distressed they may soil themselves or vomit. The doors are heavy, often metal, and lock from the outside.

History of Hidden Trauma

For many families, the first time they learn their school has a seclusion room is after their child has been injured in one. Heiser recounted the story of a third-grade student with a learning disability who had no prior history of behavioral incidents. When a new, inexperienced principal took over, the child’s behavior was met not with support, but with confinement.

The boy was locked in a small room for hours, denied food and water. In his distress, he ran into the walls trying to escape, sustaining a brain injury and three hematomas. His mother only discovered the situation when she was called to pick him up and found him locked inside.

“The child is already traumatized, the family and school relationship has completely broken down, and the damage has been done,” Heiser said.

The Doomsday Myth

Despite these horrors, the practice persists, driven by what MDLC attorneys call “doomsday arguments.” Opponents of the ban suggest that without seclusion, schools will be forced to rely on police intervention or dangerous physical holds to manage unsafe behavior.

“We went to other states that have banned seclusion—there are 11 now—and asked, ‘Have you seen law enforcement involvement increase?’ And nobody said yes,” Heiser said. “There is no data across the country that backs it up the argument that seclusion decreases violence.”

In fact, MDLC argues the opposite is true: seclusion escalates behavior rather than resolving it.

The Legislative Battleground

Minnesota is currently at a crossroads. A 2023 law successfully banned seclusion for students up to third grade, but a provision to end the practice for all students by 2026 failed to pass. Now, advocates are fighting a defensive battle.

Jessica Webster, a legislative staff attorney with Legal Aid, highlighted a current push led by Senator Judy Seeberger to roll back the existing K-3 ban, driven by personal experiences where she felt seclusion was necessary for safety.

“It’s really a one-legislator strong fight,” Webster said. “She did not have the votes in the House… but she was able to get votes in the Senate to move us in this direction.”

This rollback effort comes despite the fact that, privately, nearly every school administrator MDLC has spoken to admits they want to stop using seclusion. “We have not heard a single school say they want to keep seclusion forever,” Heiser said. “They just say, ‘We need more tools and training to stop using it.’”

A Call for Transparency

As the legislative session continues, MDLC is urging parents and community members to demand transparency. The report found that the state’s list of registered seclusion rooms is inaccurate, meaning many parents have no idea if their child’s school maintains a locked cell.

“People get confused between a seclusion room and a calming space,” Webster said. “Minnesotans need to understand the vast differences between those two things so that we can end the practice of solitary confinement.”

The full report, “Children in Confinement,” is available at Mid-MN Legal Aid.