As Albertans prepare to vote for school trustees on October 20, 2025, they should know that some school divisions still utilize the practice of seclusion and have seclusion rooms.

Inclusion Alberta continues to call for a ban on these practices. These are not teaching strategies and cause harm to all children, especially those with intellectual disabilities who may not understand what happened or be able to speak up for themselves.

A freedom of information request revealed that in 2024–25, Alberta schools had 116 seclusion rooms in just 11 of 59 Public and Catholic divisions. Students were confined more than 7,000 times the year before.

What are seclusion and restraint? 

• Seclusion: locking or isolating a student alone in a space they cannot freely leave.
• Seclusion Room: a room built specifically for this purpose.
• Physical Restraint: physically holding or immobilizing a student to control behavior. This does not include physical escort which is brief and directional contact that has the purpose of accompanying and inducing a student to walk to a safe location.

Why this matters 

Some districts no longer use seclusion, but others continue. We believe seclusion should never be used—especially for children with disabilities. Investment in positive behaviour supports and alternative strategies to support children who are struggling is the only ethical response.

Alberta Education allows seclusion and restraint within Standards for Seclusion and Physical Restraint in Alberta Schools that require:

• Seclusion only be used in a crisis or emergency and a positive behaviour support plan must be in place.
• Parents first provide consent and be informed.
• If seclusion and/or restraint are used in a school, proper staff training be implemented.

Despite the existence of the Standards, these practices are inherently unsafe, and standards alone do not ensure students will not be harmed by the use of these practices, particularly if they are not enforced or monitored. Families have described how their children have been harmed in Inclusion Alberta’s Survey on The Use of Seclusion and Restraint in Schools from 2018.

Where seclusion rooms exist 

Between September 2024 and February 2025, seclusion rooms were found in the following divisions:

Public school divisions: 

1. Calgary School Division
2. Edmonton School Division
3. Elk Island School Division
4. Parkland School Division
5. Pembina Hills School Division
6. St. Albert School Division
7. Grande Prairie School Division – not used in the 2024-25 school year for the months data was available for
8. High Prairie School Division – not used in the 2024-25 school year for the months data was available for

Catholic school divisions: 

1. Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School Division
2. Edmonton Catholic Separate School Division
3. Grande Prairie Roman Catholic Separate School Division

No Francophone or Charter school authorities have seclusion rooms. Four Private school authorities have seclusion rooms: Calgary Quest Children’s Society, Elves Special Needs Society, Renfrew Educational Services Society, and Unlimited Potential Community Services Society.

Among Private ECS Operators, only CASA Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health had seclusion rooms in the 2024-25 school year.

Read and familiarize yourself with the Standards for Seclusion and Physical Restraint in Alberta Schools.

What you can do

We ask that all Albertans take the following actions in solidarity:

Contact school board trustee candidates 

• With school board trustee elections fast approaching, now is a critical time for families to raise the issue of seclusion and restraints with school board trustee candidates.
• We encourage you to email candidates and attempt to speak to them in person before the October 20 election.
• If your school division has seclusion rooms, ask:

Will you advocate for the division to end the use of seclusion and to limit the use of restraint to situations posing an imminent danger of serious bodily injury, and strengthen the application of positive and proactive approaches? 

• If your school division does not have seclusion rooms, ask:

Will you advocate for the division to limit the use of restraint to situations posing an imminent danger of serious bodily injury, and strengthen the application of positive and proactive approaches? 

Speak with your child’s Principal 

• Ask if the school has a seclusion room.
• If yes, ask to see it.
• Request a copy of school and district policies.
• State clearly that you do not consent to your child being placed in seclusion.
• Ask how they are supporting staff to access professional learning opportunities in implementing positive and proactive strategies to reduce the need for crisis response strategies.
• Point out that most Alberta divisions no longer use seclusion and ask if the school will commit to closing theirs.

Share what you learn 

• To support the call for a ban on seclusion and restraint, Inclusion Alberta invites you to complete a short confidential survey about your school conversation. TAKE THE SURVEY HERE (Microsoft Forms survey) 

Report all instances of seclusion, restraints or exclusion in schools or child care using the National Exclusion Tracker

The National Exclusion Tracker is intended to collect details of each instance of exclusion, no matter how small or frequent. Families are encouraged to complete the survey each time exclusion happens.

Documenting these experiences on a national scale highlights the magnitude of exclusion, raises awareness of practices that contribute to exclusion, and provides data that can be used to push for meaningful change in schools, child care programs, and education policy across Canada. Some of the other types of exclusion you can report in the tracker are shortened school days, being denied access to child care or out-of-school care, or being segregated.

Thank you in advance for your advocacy.

-Inclusion Alberta