Statement of ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein on the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board’s recent 4-1 vote to add conditions to their contract with El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch that ensure that students are not placed in solitary confinement in the facility’s reflection cottages.

“The ACLU of Colorado commends the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board and Board Member Stephanie Garcia for sending a loud and clear message to the El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch that children entrusted to its care by the school district can no longer be subjected to solitary confinement.

“As families and children continue to come forward and share experiences of isolation for days and weeks in the so-called “reflection cottages,” we are pleased that the Colorado Department of Human Services has responded to the ACLU’s letters by opening an investigation. We await the results of that investigation.”

more on this case