WEYMOUTH — Oct. 1, 2026 — The Weymouth School Committee adopted its revised policy on time-out, seclusion and physical restraint of students after member Kelly McClean vowed not to support any policy that normalizes seclusion, then voted to find no open meeting law violations in two complaints filed by McClean. A vote on a third, filed by member Ashley Dickerman and directed at the chair, was announced as passing.
The Full Story
The policy, JKAA, came up for its third and final reading with additions written by the Policy Subcommittee. One, as Kelly McClean described it during debate, requires a staff member who initiates a time-out to inform the student’s caregiver within 24 hours, including the behavior that preceded it, the location and the duration.
McClean asked why the policy was not returning for a first reading, as discussed at the subcommittee. Mary-Ellen Devine said the subcommittee chose to accept it as is because state law required it, and to watch it for possible revisions next year.
McClean then read a statement arguing that seclusion cannot be squared with the district’s strategic vision of belong, believe, achieve. She said language barring seclusion even as an emergency response had been proposed at the previous meeting with a request for legal review, called a two-day Safety Care course for new employees and a yearly refresher an insufficient investment in staff, and argued that parental consent should not justify seclusion.
While I sit on this committee, I will not support a policy that condones or normalizes seclusion. Seclusion is a poor intervention tool that can frequently escalate rather than resolve a situation.
— Kelly McClean (15:01)
Cindy Lyons asked how the requirement that a licensed mental health professional confirm seclusion is psychologically appropriate would work for a student without an individualized education program. Assistant Superintendent Lindsey Fratolillo said seclusion is prohibited unless the state’s requirements are met for a particular student, and every other student defaults to the prohibition. The policy passed on a roll call; only McClean voted no.
Later, the district’s student services team reported 316 staff fully trained in Safety Care and at least eight trained staff in every building. The team said the emergency seclusion procedures are new to everyone and that collecting seclusion data is a new state requirement, and both will be reviewed as cases arise.
The committee then took up three open meeting law complaints, two filed by School Committee member Kelly McClean and one by School Committee member Ashley Dickerman, each already reviewed by the committee’s legal counsel.
The first McClean complaint concerned an executive session discussion of the recording secretary position. As read into the record, counsel concluded the discussion fell within preparing for negotiations with nonunion personnel, and that releasing the minutes before a final hiring decision would defeat the purpose of the session.
The second concerned deliberation after an executive session. Counsel found no violation based on the limited information in the complaint, but the response, as read, said the matter may warrant additional discussion among the committee to determine whether a violation occurred, and reminded members about discussions among a possible quorum. The committee voted to find no violation in each and refer both to counsel for written responses.
