School for disabled closes in wake of boy’s death

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California school where an autistic boy died after being restrained has closed its doors for good.

Guiding Hands School in El Dorado Hills closed Friday after providing private education to special-needs students for 25 years.

Regulators stripped the school of its state certification after a 13-year-old boy was placed in a face-down restraint for nearly an hour in November and later died. Regulators said the staff used excessive force.

The state Department of Education says a judge on Friday let that revocation stand.

While denying wrongdoing, the school announced last week that it would close on Friday, which would allow another school to take over the property, hire the staff and provide services to about 130 students.

Regulators say any new facility will also need state certification.