Julie Reznik Quoted in SpecialEdConnection Article Entitled "Don't go to extremes; React appropriately to dangerous students"

Source: SpecialEdConnection®, 5/1/26 Issue date

Julie Reznik is quoted in the SpecialEdConnection article entitled "Don't go to exxtremes; React appropriately to dangerous students.

While they may carry it around to protect themselves outside of school, teachers have no business using pepper spray to protect themselves from dangerous students with disabilities, said Julie Reznik, an attorney at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, Conn.

"I couldn't imagine a situation where that would be used with a student. It could open a district up to liability. But there are some things a district can do to ensure extreme responses are a last resort."

Districts should help educators and other staff members clarify what they can do when faced with dangerous students to avoid inappropriately excluding them from learning or worse, harming them. Both the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Office for Civil Rights have stated that if a student's behaviors, including disability-related behaviors, pose an immediate threat to their own or others' safety, the district may take appropriate action. This includes imposing a temporary emergency removal. See Questions and Answers: Addressing the Needs of Children with Disabilities and IDEA's Discipline Provisions, 81 IDELR 138 (OSERS 2022). Use the following ideas when faced with a dangerous student with a disability.

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