Snapshot: Rates of Restraint, Seclusion, and Bullying for Students with Disabilities

During the 2022-23 school year, 2,470 students in New Jersey were subject to restraint and/or seclusion.
Of the 2,470 students, 2,311 of them experienced either physical or mechanical restraint. Students with disabilities make up 85% of students subjected to physical restraint and 80% of students subjected to mechanical restraint.
Of the 2,470 students, 305 students subjected to seclusion. Students with disabilities make up 92% of students subjected to seclusion.
During the 2022-23 school year, bulling specifically about a student’s disability made up 7.9% of reported cases of peer-to-peer bullying in New Jersey, surpassed by race, gender, sexual orientation, and non-specific bullying.
During the 2022-23 school year, of students with disabilities who reported being bullied in New Jersey, 88% of them reported being bullied for something other than their disability.
Survey results canvasing college students with disabilities indicate that they are nearly twice as likely as students without disabilities to experience bullying and cyber-bullying.
Students with disabilities are 1.5 times more likely to experience distress in response to bullying or cyber-bullying, and 1.7 times more likely to experience negative academic performance in response to bullying or cyber-bullying.