NAACP criticizes handcuffing kids decision.

The Kent School Board's unanimous decision this week to continue allowing school security officers to restrain students with metal handcuffs was met with withering criticism by Seattle NAACP president Carl Mack, who yesterday said the board had turned the district into "a penal system." "These people have absolutely lost their minds," he said. "Every time they make a decision, the rest of the state is looking on in amazement at their stupidity." The local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has alleged that district security guards used excessive force against several black students, and earlier this year it filed claims seeking nearly $50 million on behalf of 15 students. The board's decision Wednesday went against the recommendation of an independent panel that Kent Superintendent Barbara Grohe convened in April to review the district's security practices and procedures. The panel had recommended discontinuing the use of metal handcuffs to restrain misbehaving students. District spokeswoman Becky Hanks said the board decided that alternative methods such as plastic ties weren't as effective. [more ]