Starboard Broadside

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, MA-- a school for students with special needs and disabilities-- is being investigated by the Department of Justice.

For nearly four decades, the school has generated controversy for its unorthodox methods, administered to roughly half of the 200 students. Many of them have autism, developmental disabilities, or emotional troubles, and some have criminal records or are at risk of hurting themselves. Those students wear electrodes attached to their skin, and staff members can remotely trigger a two-second electrical shock through a hand-held device.

While it's great that the school provides learning opportunities for students with special needs, this is absolutely APPALLING and calls into question whether the school ever had the children's best interests in mind. Calling its methods "unorthodox" is ridiculous. Let's not mince words; they're downright cruel.