Unnecessary, Inappropriate, Illegal: SPLC lawsuit exposes how nearly
38,000 children each year are seized in Florida, handcuffed and taken
to mental facilities
[link removed]
The SPLC | Read the full piece here
[link removed]
Friend,
When D.P. got upset one day, his teacher allowed him to leave class
and take a short walk, giving the 9-year-old boy with autism enough
time to calm down before rejoining his classmates.
But on another day, in November 2018, the boy met with a very
different response. This time, two adults held him face down on the
floor. It followed an incident in which he reportedly threw a stuffed
animal in the classroom and made statements that showed he was
distraught. A few days earlier, a family member had died.
The situation escalated further, and the third-grader found himself
handcuffed in the back of a police car. Instead of taking D.P. home,
police transported him to a mental health facility for an evaluation.
He was handcuffed for a total of 90 minutes.
Sadly, many other children in his Florida school district and across
the state have been subjected to similar traumatic experiences. In
fact, the use of the Florida Mental Health Act, also known as the
Baker Act - which allows police officers with limited or no
mental health training to subject children and adults to involuntary
psychiatric examinations - has become so common that people who
are detained under the law are said to have been "Baker
Acted."
Across the state, a shocking number of children - nearly 38,000
- were subjected to involuntary examination under the Baker Act
during the 2018-19 school year, many of them seized in school for
exhibiting normal childish behavior or behavior linked to their
disabilities, according to a recent Southern Poverty Law Center report
that describes the improper and often illegal use of the act by
schools across Florida.
[link removed]
D.P. and his grandmother, who is his guardian, are among the
plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit brought by the SPLC and other
civil rights advocates against the School District of Palm Beach
County over its illegal use of the Baker Act.
[link removed]
READ MORE
[link removed]
In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond,
working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy,
strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of
all people.
DONATE
[link removed]
--
Unsubscribe [link removed] | Privacy Policy [link removed] | Contact Us [link removed]
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
334.956.8200 // splcenter.org
[link removed]
Copyright 2021
