STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
DATES SET FOR COAKLEY, BAKER ONE-ON-ONE DEBATE, TWO OTHERS
Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Charlie Baker, two of the five candidates for governor, will face off in a one-on-one debate set for Oct. 21 and sponsored by WGBH News and the Boston Globe. The hour-long debate will air at 7 p.m. on WGBH 2, 89.7 FM, and WGBHNews.org, along with the station’s sister stations WGBY-TV in Springfield and the Cape and Islands’ WCAI-FM. Separate dates were announced Tuesday for debates in Springfield on Monday and WBZ-TV in early October. Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, the hosts of WGBH’s “Boston Public Radio, will moderate the one-on-one debate, which will have a “conversation-style format,” according to a Tuesday release from WGBH. Braude and Eagan both also write for the Globe, with Braude appearing once a month in the newspaper’s Sunday magazine and Eagan penning a column for Crux, the Globe’s new website focused on Catholic issues. The WGBH release also said the station would be launching a “new interactive experience” allowing viewers in WGBH’s Brighton studio and at home to log “their real-time reactions on their mobile devices.” Three independent candidates are also running for the Corner Office – Jeff McCormick, Evan Falchuk and Scott Lively. Falchuk has been harshly critical of suggestions that voters deserve to see Coakley and Baker in head-to-head at the exclusion of the three independents, who have failed to break out of low single digit support in public opinion polls. A western Massachusetts debate in Springfield scheduled for earlier this month has been rescheduled for Sept. 29 at 7 p.m., the Springfield Republican said Tuesday. The Republican newspaper is part of a media consortium, which also includes the Springfield Public Forum, MassLive.com, CBS 3 Springfield, WWLP 22 News, WGGB ABC 40, the Berkshire Eagle, the Valley Press Club, Western New England University and WGBY-TV. The Republican newspaper said the debate’s new date was set after “working through scheduling conflicts and subsequent haggling with a couple of the candidates running for governor.” Separately, the five candidates will be meeting on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in a live debate that will air on WBZ-TV, WBZ Newsradio 1030 and cbs.boston.com. – G. Dumcius/SHNS
STATE OPENS COMMENT ON SCHOOL RESTRAINT REGULATIONS
State education officials are revising regulations around “restraint” and “seclusion” of public school students with behavioral issues, in light of federal guidelines changes. Education officials want to reduce the use of behavioral restrictions to avoid re-traumatizing children. Restraints vary from holding a student’s hand to holding them down on the floor. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Tuesday to seek public comment on the proposed regulation changes. Commissioner Mitchell Chester said he expects a lot of input. “Well-meaning people will disagree on what’s the appropriate path to take,” he said during a board meeting in Malden Tuesday. State education officials want to prohibit the use of the most extreme type of restraint, known as “prone restraint.” In “prone” restraint, a student is held with his or her face to the floor by two or three trained adults. One adult holds the student’s legs and another adult holds his or her arms, keeping the student immobile until they are calm enough to return to the classroom. Some opposed to the technique say it exposes the child to greater risk of asphyxiation because of pressure on the chest. Several states have banned prone restraint on disabled children, including New Hampshire and Maine. The proposed regulations from DESE also clarify the use of “time outs” by distinguishing them from seclusion, which is prohibited. “Time-out” is a behavioral support strategy designed to calm a student down, requires adult supervision, and is limited to 30 minutes, according to state education officials. The regulations would also require local administrators to review their practices and require annual reporting to the state of restraint incidents. The public comment period ends November 3. – C. Quinn/SHNS
