When Elyse K’s daughter was 8, she told her mom that at school “they’d put her up on the wall, like a coat on a coat rack.”

Elyse K took the school to court. The lawsuit filed alleged that a school operated by Contra Costa County County Office of Education for children with severe emotional and behavioral challenges used extreme tactics — such as physical restraints and isolation — to punish students and control their behavior. A recent settlement in the case requires the state to closely monitor the school and to train staff in positive discipline.