Impact: The Times Union

(2022 Cohort) The Times Union’s series on the use of restraint and seclusion was the 2022 winner of the Best use of the Freedom of Information Act, Best Investigation and third place in education reporting awards from the New York Press Association. The series also was the 2022 winner of the Stephen A. Collins Public Service Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists for restraint and seclusion investigation. 

The series prompted the New York State Education Department to recommend new regulations on restraint and seclusion. A vote to implement or not implement those regulations will take place in July 2023. 

New legislation was also filed in Connecticut, New York and Texas. 

The team continues to receive numerous tips about the misuse of these techniques in schools.

Read the project here:

When schools use force by Hearst Newspapers
Albany, NY, USA | Oct. 27, 2022