FDA Passes May Deadline Without Decision on Electrical Shock Devices at Judge Rotenberg Center

The Food and Drug Administration set itself a deadline two years ago to decide whether to ban electrical shock devices used to manage self-injurious behavior. That deadline, pegged to the end of May, has now passed without a verdict as of June 1, 2026.

U.S. Institution that still employs them. The center has 3,475 residents, 54 of whom receive some shock treatments, according to a JRC spokesperson. United Nations officials have called the practice a form of torture.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has described it as punishing. Disability advocates have sought to close the center for decades, particularly after a 2012 court video showed a resident being shocked for seven hours. The FDA began the regulatory process in 2013 and attempted to outlaw the devices in 2020.

A federal appeals court judge overruled that 2020 decision, stating the agency lacked authority. Congress added a provision in its 2022 omnibus bill granting the FDA the needed authority. The FDA posted an initial rule in 2024.

The vast majority of public comments supported reinstating a ban. A federal health spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the agency’s current plans. Aleyda Martinez arrived at the Judge Rotenberg Center in 2002 at age 14.

She said officials removed a ring from her finger on her first day and that she was routinely shocked for speaking Spanish. ” Robyn Linscott, director of education and family policy at The Arc, first learned about the treatments in 2011 while working as a special education teacher in New York City.

” JRC Executive Director Glenda Crookes said the center must obtain approval from a resident’s family and from a judge before using the device.