Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent tells school board isolation rooms are traumatizing elementary students
Summary
At the Stillwater Board of Education meeting, parent Candace Kelly detailed accounts of children placed in locked, padded isolation rooms and urged the board to review policies and consider alternatives; the board did not respond during public comment and no formal action was taken.
Candace Kelly, speaking during the public comment period at the Stillwater Board of Education meeting, told trustees that parents in the community are alarmed by the use of padded isolation rooms at elementary schools and urged the board to review the practice.
"He said, 'Do you know that there is a padded room in my school that they lock kids in for misbehaving?' " Kelly said, recounting her 10‑year‑old son’s description of a locked room and teachers standing outside. She said her son—who has attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder—felt anxious about returning to school after hearing about the room. Kelly said other parents have reported children being isolated or restrained repeatedly.
Kelly said she reviewed district policy and requested an explanation from her son's principal; she asked the board to examine alternatives to padded rooms and called for time to present parents’ proposals. "I have got mounds of parents and stories that are just like you wouldn't believe," she said.
Board staff read the district’s public‑comment guidelines at the start of the period, which state that board members and administrative staff may not respond to questions or discuss issues raised during public comment because doing so could violate Oklahoma’s Open Meetings Act. The board made no public response to Kelly’s remarks during the meeting.
The district did not take any immediate action on the complaint during the meeting. Under the board’s stated rules, items not listed on the agenda are not voted on during public comment. Kelly said parents have identified alternatives they would like the district to consider and requested that the board allow additional time to present those options.
The meeting packet included a reminder about the Open Meetings/Open Records laws; no policy change or staff directive related to isolation rooms was recorded in the meeting minutes or motions. The board moved on to routine business following public comment.
Next steps: Kelly urged the board to investigate and said parents are prepared to present suggested alternatives; the transcript indicates no formal follow‑up motion was made at this meeting.
