Milwaukee Public Schools: The Handcuff Solution

The Milwaukee School Board's decision to proceed in developing a policy for the use of flexible handcuff restraints on violent, out of control students is being debated outside of Wisconsin.

ABC's Good Morning America brought attention to the story.

They're used on criminals, inmates and terrorists.

Soon, the pinch of plastic handcuffs could be felt by unruly students, too.

Good grief. How dramatic!

Not surprisingly, ABC distorts the plan.

A few problems with ABC's report:

1. ABC equates students with prisoners and terrorists. That language is emotionally charged. Its story isn't a report; it's an editorial meant to rally support against the proposed policy.

2. ABC refers to handcuffs being used on "unruly students." That's a very poor choice of words. Define "unruly." It sounds like a kid might be cuffed for talking in class at an inappropriate time or for not sitting still and being attentive in class.

That's unfair. We're not talking about run-of-the-mill misbehaving. We're talking about dangerous students, the ones that need to be tackled to the ground to control.

3. ABC fails to fully address the severity of the problem of violence at MPS.

The lib media propagandize again. Same old, same old.

On the local level, an editorial and a column in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel criticize the school boards' cuffing plan, sort of.

True to form, the JS Editorial Board is incoherent.

It argues that students are already being restrained and being taken away in handcuffs by police. It cites this reality as a symptom of the real problem -- inadequate mental health services for children.

(Can you say "higher taxes"?)

The board agrees with the policy as a necessary evil born out of the failure of federal and state institutions to care for troubled kids.

The Madison-based Wisconsin Family Ties says nearly 90,000 school-age children statewide have serious mental health disorders and that most of them are not receiving the help they need. Executive director Hugh Davis blames, in large part, lack of government funding.

Treating mental problems at a young age would save society both money and trouble later.

So the out of control kids are mentally ill or disturbed.

Is it possible that the out of control of kids don't have parents around to discipline them?

Could it be that the diagnosed "mental problems" are really behavioral issues that stem directly from a lack of parental supervision and involvement in the kids' lives?

Is it possible that more government funding won't address the real source of violent kids -- bad or AWOL parents?

Yes to all of the above.

If only there were more funds, more government involvement, then handcuffs wouldn't be necessary.

In effect, the board is arguing that the reigning chaos at MPS could be alleviated with tax increases.

Gee, I didn't see that coming.

Right. In the end, the editorial is more about a justification for higher taxes than anything else.

Also weighing in on the cuffs controversy is Journal Sentinel resident race-baiter Eugene Kane.

He writes:

To his credit, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos knows he blew it on this one.

The top guy at MPS didn't realize the visceral impact a new policy allowing a form of handcuffs to be used on misbehaving students would have on certain parents.

Particularly African-American parents who live in daily fear of the possibility their child might actually turn up in handcuffs. Black mothers in particular who are determined to keep their sons out of the grip of a criminal justice system that has become second nature for far too many black males.

Andrekopoulos, of course, is struggling to come up with a solution for disruptive behavior by some MPS students with emotional or mental problems that can threaten the safety of other students, faculty or themselves.

He didn't realize his support of the handcuffs policy would disappoint - even outrage - some black parents, a black School Board member and the local NAACP. But he does now.

Andrekopoulos admitted Monday that announcing the new policy without an adequate campaign to educate the public was the wrong move.

"I didn't understand what the image of kids in handcuffs would mean to some people," he said during an interview at MPS headquarters. "I understand that now."

I suppose Andrekopoulos has to cater to the parents.

He needs what little cooperation he can get from them. He certainly doesn't want to alienate the few parents who are still concerned about their children's education.

Although Andrekopoulos isn't backing away from the policy, he's trying to take a softer approach.

It's unfortunate that he has to appease alarmist critics and race-baiters.

Kane speaks of black mothers "who are determined to keep their sons out of the grip of a criminal justice system that has become second nature for far too many black males."

He makes it sound like the thugs are victims of the criminal justice system.

If the mothers were able to keep their sons from breaking the law, they would never be in the system's "grips. "

I'd like to see some personal responsibility. Breaking the law is a choice. If kids end up in the criminal justice system, it's because they chose to go wrong.

Andrekopoulos shouldn't have to apologize for managing students' thuggish behavior, but he does.

Kane gives some of Andrekopoulos' reasons for supporting the handcuff policy.

...Andrekopoulos said it was more dangerous for staff and teachers to restrain a student physically than use the handcuffs until the student can calm down.

Another factor, Andrekopoulos said, is that Milwaukee police don't respond quickly enough to reports of unruly students. In his early years as an educator, Andrekopoulos said, cops would respond within 15 minutes. These days, "it takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour."

With quicker police response, he said, MPS likely wouldn't be considering handcuffs at all.

Cops are too slow. Blame the cops' response time for the little angels being put in flexible cuffs.

Yeah, that makes sense.

...Also, the handcuffs would never be used to punish students for bad behavior, which was a concern for many who questioned the policy.

"That was our fault. We didn't explain it," he said.

What's he talking about? Andrekopoulos explained it. It was clear from the beginning that the policy wasn't about punishment. It was clear the cuffs would only be used as a last resort.

What the superintendent said he needed most these days was help from the public.

"I need advice and guidance from the community," he said. "We need to find out what level of involvement the community is willing to accept in order to keep our schools safe."

In many ways, Andrekopoulos is the one wearing handcuffs with this controversial new policy. He seems quite aware of that fact.

Andrekopoulos has a challenging (AKA nightmarish) job.

It's easy to be an armchair quarterback; but I don't think Andrekopoulos is being tough enough.

This statement bothers me:

"We need to find out what level of involvement the community is willing to accept in order to keep our schools safe."

The level of involvement shouldn't be in question.

Whatever policies are necessary to keep schools safe are the ones that need to be implemented.

How can kids learn if they're fearing for their safety? How can teachers teach?


In spite of his apology, I don't think that Andrekopoulos mishandled the matter.

I think there are a lot of people in denial about the real issue here.

It isn't the handcuffing of violent students.

The problem is that parents and the community are more concerned about the use of these flexible restraints than they are about safety at MPS and the protection of students, staff, and faculty.

The handcuff outrage du jour is drawing a lot of attention. That's the focus, as if it's the most important issue facing MPS.

Meanwhile, the schools continue on their downward spiral and all of society pays the price.