FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s child advocate says schools are using restraint techniques without legal authority on misbehaving children.
In a new report, Kelly Lamrock says some schools are detaining children against their will in seclusion rooms.
He says they are also sending misbehaving students home under a practice called partial days.
The advocate says there is no authority in the Education Act for the use of partial days if they result in children being denied services given to their peers.
As well, he says the use of seclusion rooms in schools is not governed by provincial laws or policies approved by elected officials.
In a statement, Education Minister Claire Johnson did not directly address Lamrock’s accusations, saying only that the government accepted “in principle” all the recommendations in his report.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2025.
