According to a report by STAT, the Food and Drug Administration has pushed back its deadline on banning electric shock devices used to modify the behavior of students with disabilities. The delay was made quietly, without public announcement.
The devices are used at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Massachusetts. The school uses them on students with severe behavioral and intellectual disabilities. The FDA had previously moved to ban the devices, classifying them as presenting an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury.
The agency's original rule to ban the devices has faced a long legal and regulatory road. A federal appeals court previously struck down an earlier version of the ban, sending the FDA back to restart the process. The new delay pushes back the timeline further, leaving the devices in use while the regulatory process continues.
Disability rights advocates have long argued the devices cause psychological harm and amount to torture. The Rotenberg Center has defended the treatment as a last resort for students who have not responded to other interventions.
The FDA's decision to move the deadline without a formal public notice drew criticism from those who have pushed for the ban. The delay means the devices remain in legal use at the school for the foreseeable future, with no new deadline clearly established.