Officials in Holyoke, Massachusetts say changes have been made in a public school program where investigators found emotionally disabled children had been restrained for long periods, pushed, and slapped for misbehaving.
Stephen Zrike, the state-appointed school receiver, said the findings by the Disability Law Center from the investigation last spring at the Peck School constitute abuse and neglect under federal statutes.
"All I can do is assure our families and the public that moving forward and currently in the program those things are not happening," Zrike said in an interview Thursday, the day after the Disability Law Center's reprot was made public.
Shortly after he took charge of the district in July, Zrike said he heard concerns about the program, that has about 50 students in fifth through eighth grade. He made changes a few months later that included replacing the principal and implementing new procedures for restraining and disciplining students.
