Nearly 400 Wake County students were physically restrained or secluded in school this past fall, according to newly released district data that lays out a stark picture of how often staff turned to those emergency measures.
The district reports that 371 students were held or isolated more than 1,000 times during the fall 2025 semester. Most of those students are elementary-age children with disabilities who are disproportionately Black. In all, staff used physical restraint 768 times and seclusion 288 times, both increases over the same stretch a year earlier.
Those figures appear in the semi-annual reporting package the district must file under a 2023 legal settlement and were set to go before the school board's Student Achievement Committee on Tuesday afternoon. According to WRAL, the fall tally of 768 restraint episodes is up from 628, while seclusion incidents rose to 288 from 264 over the same period the previous year.
What the law requires
North Carolina law spells out what schools can and cannot do when it comes to "physical restraint" and "seclusion," and it sets clear rules on reporting and notifying families. Under North Carolina General Statutes §115C-391.1, school staff must promptly notify a parent or guardian, generally by the end of the workday when reasonably possible, and must provide a written incident report within 30 days in specified situations.
The statute restricts the use of mechanical restraints and says seclusion is only allowed in narrowly defined emergencies or when it is specifically written into a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 plan.
Why the district publishes these figures
The public, semi-annual data releases are a direct result of a 2023 settlement in a lawsuit brought by a family who said their child had been improperly restrained and secluded. That agreement requires more transparency and faster notification to families. As reported by NC Newsline, the settlement also gives parents and guardians access to any available video footage tied to incidents, along with other disclosure requirements.
District response and training plans
District leaders say they are in the middle of a major overhaul of services for students with disabilities and are expanding training for staff on de-escalation and crisis response. WRAL reports that Wake County officials are steering extra resources toward schools with higher incident rates and piloting specialized supports meant to cut down on the use of restraint and seclusion in the future.
What comes next for families
The Student Achievement Committee was scheduled to review the new data on Tuesday afternoon, according to the district calendar. Wake County Public School System officials and school board members say they want to drive the numbers down, while advocates and families say they will continue to push for clearer rules, stronger training, and strict compliance with both the settlement and state law.
