Every week, three times, a police vehicle arrives at a school in Wicomico County on Maryland’s eastern shore. From there, a young trainee is taken, handcuffed, and escorted to a health center emergency clinic for a psychiatric evaluation.
Over the last 8 years, this procedure has been followed at least 750 times on students, some as young as 5 years old.
According to state law, this practice, known as petitions for emergency situation evaluation, should only be used for individuals with serious mental illness who pose threats to their safety or that of others. It is the first step towards the involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital.
Children being sent to the emergency room for psychiatric evaluations has gradually become a nationwide issue. These trips allegedly result from student frustration over assignments and bullying. Advocates say that these ER visits usually come after months, sometimes years of the students’ needs not being met.
Appealing to available data, it becomes apparent that black students are much more likely to be subjected to these eliminations than their peers. Similarly, students with disabilities are also removed at higher rates.
As of 2017, schools in Wicomico County have pledged not to misuse emergency petitions as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. While the number of suspensions and expulsions decreased, mandated trips to the emergency room have increased.
Interviews conducted with several people, including parents, students, and advocates for students with disabilities in Wicomico County, reveal shortcomings in resources and staff as well as punitive cultures in schools as being at the heart of the abuse of emergency petitions.
One parent from Wicomico recounted the fear she felt when her child’s school called to inform her about taking him for a forced psychiatric hospitalization.
