Why It Matters
Thousands of students across Minnesota and nationwide are assigned to separate classrooms under special education labels for emotional or behavioral disorders—a designation that shapes their entire school experience from early childhood through graduation. Unlike other special education categories, this label requires no medical diagnosis and relies on subjective criteria about a student’s relationships and demeanor. The placement affects educational outcomes, social development, and future opportunities for predominantly minority students.
What Happened
A 19-year-old St. Paul student identified as Walter has spent nearly his entire school career in separate classrooms for students labeled with emotional or behavioral disorders. His pattern began in therapeutic day care and continued through elementary school in high-security facilities with locked doors, then into specialized classrooms at his neighborhood middle school and Central Senior High School.
Walter’s mother, Crystal Deramus, said her son exhibited aggressive behavior before kindergarten, throwing objects and running away from school. After a car accident left her in a wheelchair when Walter was 5, she approved his placement in a locked public school facility called River Bend Education Center to prevent him from running into traffic.
At Central Senior High School, Walter and most of his peers with the same label attend classes taught by Jesse Kwakenat, a veteran special education teacher. Nearly all students in Kwakenat’s classroom are students of color who have carried the designation since elementary school.
By the Numbers
The emotional or behavioral disorders label is used statewide in Minnesota and appears under different names in other states. At the federal level, the category is called emotional disturbance. Students with this designation spend the majority of their school day in separate classrooms with other labeled students.
Walter received the label before kindergarten and has remained in segregated educational settings for approximately 14 years. All but one student in Kwakenat’s current classroom are students of color.
The designation is the only special education category that does not require a medical or psychological diagnosis. Criteria include subjective assessments such as an inability to maintain satisfactory relationships and pervasive unhappiness.
Zoom Out
Federal special education law requires schools to educate students in the least restrictive environment appropriate for their needs. The principle aims to integrate students with disabilities into general education settings whenever possible, with removal to separate classrooms reserved for cases where education in regular classes cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
Separate classrooms for students with behavioral labels remain common nationwide despite decades of research on inclusion practices. Advocates for separate settings argue they allow trained teachers to provide individualized instruction. Critics contend the model segregates vulnerable students and limits their access to mainstream educational opportunities and peer relationships.
What’s Next
Kwakenat noted that students in his classroom rarely succeed in classes outside his room unless taught by the other special education teacher for behavioral disorders at Central. He said the federal goal of special education should be helping students exit the system, but the current structure makes that outcome unlikely.
School districts face ongoing debate over how to balance safety, individualized support, and integration for students with behavioral challenges. The trajectory for students like Walter—who remain in separate settings from early childhood through high school—raises questions about whether the label becomes a permanent educational track rather than a temporary support.