Parents press Union Township board over restraint incidents, ask for transparency on "Handle with Care" practices

Several parents used the public-comment period at the Union Township Board of Education's Jan. 21 meeting to raise concerns about classroom "holds" and the district's implementation of its "Handle with Care" protocols. A parent said her daughter "witnesses daily holds" in a kindergarten classroom and asked what the district's protocol is for students who remain in the classroom during such incidents. Other speakers expressed concern about the frequency of holds, an alleged restraint incident involving a board member's child, and asked what supports teachers need.

Superintendent Dr. Barbara Popp told the board she had followed up with recent modifications to district Handle with Care protocols and encouraged anyone seeking more information to contact the presenter (Laura Marchese) or, for details about a specific incident, to arrange a meeting with the building principal. The minutes note that the board had scheduled an informational presentation on Handle with Care earlier in the agenda and that Attorney Marc Zitomer would present a session on ethics for school officials.

Why it matters: parental descriptions of restraints and holds raise questions about student safety and staff training, and the board's stated response — protocol revisions and a recommendation to consult principals for incident-level information — signals that some procedural changes have been made but not necessarily full public disclosure about individual incidents.

The board did not take a separate recorded vote on policy changes at the Jan. 21 meeting during public comment; it did list a Handle with Care overview on the agenda and later recorded that Dr. Popp "followed up with recent Handle with Care modifications made to district protocols and guidelines." The minutes instruct community members with specific questions about incidents or classrooms to contact building principals. The minutes record an email received from a parent about kindergarten classrooms that preceded the public comments.

The board's next steps recorded in the minutes: the informational presentation on Handle with Care (by Laura Marchese) and an ethics briefing from the board attorney were on the agenda; Dr. Popp asked that anyone seeking more information about the presentation contact her or the building principal for case-specific questions. No formal districtwide policy adoption or new regulation was recorded as passed at this meeting.