Public school officials in Massachusetts say they had to physically restrain students more than 9,000 times last school year, sparking outcry from some advocates who say the practice is dangerous and overused. And while most schools said they used physical restraint five times or fewer, some logged more than 200. Statewide, the number of restraint cases amounted to one for every 105 students, the data show, but in some schools it was far more common. More than three-quarters of the school's 500 students come from low-income families, and nearly one-fourth have a disability, according to separate state data. In Massachusetts, schools that frequently used restraint had varying populations of students with disabilities.

Source: ABC News February 23, 2018 17:37 UTC