It's far far worse than even the info you guys have. I work at a Special Ed school in the area, and we always see the Judge Rotten-berg guys at the conferences, etc. It's been a while, so my info may be a bit old, but if I recall correctly, the walls are all painted these outrageous, bright bright colors. They play "music" -- loudly -- and the cafeteria has these weird flashing light things. Basically, they philosophy is that they'll reach the kids with sensory stimulation on *all* fronts (not just physical sensations, as with the shocks, but visual, auditory, etc.). I don't know that they consider the violent colors or sounds to be "punishment", but it certainly isn't soothing or restful.

And for that matter, there has been research on the best colors and environment for a classroom to stimulate learning. I know that for some reason, pink is good (it's "soothing") but other neutral and cool colors are supposedly good for having people feel calmer in a room, and hopefully access learning.

I know 2 people who interviewed there, and promptly left as soon as possible when they saw what things were like. (Most likely, they have unlicensed teachers working because they can't *get* licensed ones...it's a common problem in private Special Ed schools, since they can't afford to pay as much as public schools.)