WASHINGTON

Report on school restraints aims to spur federal action

Tens of thousands of students, most of them disabled, are strapped down or physically restrained in school, and disability advocates hope that a new Education Department report detailing the practice of “seclusion and restraint” will spur federal action to end it.

The report, compiled and made public for the first time by the department’s civil rights arm, revealed that 70 percent of students subjected to the techniques have disabilities.

Secluding and restraining children is controversial, and there are currently no federal standards on the use of the techniques in schools.

The American Association of School Administrators says using these techniques as a last resort in volatile situations protects students and faculty from physical harm and keeps some children with behavioral problems in schools who might otherwise go into residential institutions. But advocates say the use of seclusion and restraint is far too culturally accepted in schools and has led to abuse and that Congress or the Education Department should act to set federal standards to curtail the practice.

They point to high-profile news reports and a Government Accountability Office study in 2009 illustrating cases of children as young as preschool age duct taped to chairs and locked alone for hours. The GAO, Congress’ investigative and auditing arm, said it couldn’t determine if these types of allegations were widespread, but the agency did find “hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to the use of these methods on schoolchildren during the past two decades.”

GENEVA

Canadian skier crashes, dies in World Cup skicross event

A Canadian racer died in a World Cup skicross event Saturday, tumbling through safety nets in what ski authorities called a “freak accident.” It was the second death in less than two months of a freestyle skier from Canada.

Nik Zoricic died from head injuries when he crashed directly into the nets lining the side of the course after going wide over the final jump. As he went through the nets, his skis and poles were thrown clear.

Skicross – in which four racers jostle for an edge down a course of banks, rolls and ridges – debuted as an Olympic sport in 2010.

Max Gartner, president of Alpine Canada, said he was satisfied with the safety precautions in place.

“We’re pretty confident that this was a World Cup race and there’s lots of rules and regulations, and inspectors on site,” he said.

Gartner, speaking during a conference call from Toronto, said: “I would say it’s a freak accident, from here. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s devastating. We look at all our athletes as members of our family, so it’s hard.”

Zoricic died exactly two months after Winter X Games champion Sarah Burke crashed during halfpipe training in Park City, Utah. Burke died from her injuries nine days later. She was also 29.

ROME

Crew of Italian tanker saved after ship runs onto reef

The crew of an Italian tanker was evacuated by helicopter Saturday after the ship ran aground off Sicily in storm-tossed seas, and took on water in its engine room.

The Italian coast guard said all aboard were plucked to safety, despite fierce gusts of wind and rain.

The Gelso M., with an all-Italian crew, was caught on a reef near the port town of Syracuse, on the island’s southeast coast.

The ship had come to rest at such an angle that it was impossible to lower lifeboats, or for rescue vessels to approach, the coast guard said. It was not carrying cargo, and there appeared to be no immediate danger of pollution.

It was not clear why the ship ran aground, but storms bringing heavy rain and strong winds were lashing Sicily on Saturday.

In January, the Costa Concordia, an Italian cruise ship, rammed a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio in good weather and capsized. Twenty-five people died and seven others are missing and presumed dead.

BRASILIA, Brazil

Senate backtracks on fining firms for discrimination

The Brazilian Senate has backtracked on its approval of a bill imposing fines on companies that pay women lower wages than men for the same work.

The bill was passed by acclaim last week after it was approved by the Senate’s Human Rights Commission. It had been headed to the president to be signed into law.

The Senate’s news agency now says the leader of the ruling coalition in the upper house wants to have the bill debated before the full Senate. Romero Juca says he wants to better define what constitutes wage discrimination.

The bill provides fines as much as five times the cumulative difference in salaries for the entire time a woman is employed by a company.

CHICAGO

Fistfight breaks out during symphony performance

Maestro Riccardo Muti was nearly through the second movement of Brahms Symphony No. 2 at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when two patrons got into a fistfight.

Concert-goers at Orchestra Hall on Thursday said the men were fighting in one of the boxes where the well-to-do normally sit.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that the ruckus began when a man in his 30s started punching a 67-year-old man in one of the boxes. 

Police said the fight was the result of an argument over seats. The older man had a cut on his forehead; the other left before officers arrived.

Patrons said Muti gave the two men a sharp, irritated look before continuing with the third movement.