ADVISORY FOR 12/9 -- Bipartisan Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Protect All Children in Schools from Abuse

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UNITED STATES CONGRESS



ADVISORY for Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Melissa Salmanowitz (Miller) 202.226.0853

Kimberly Betz (McMorris Rodgers) 202.225.2006



Bipartisan Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Protect All Children in Schools from Abuse

Legislation will, for the first time, prevent harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms



WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, December 9, U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) will hold a press conference to introduce new legislation to protect all children in schools from misuse of restraint and seclusion. Miller is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a member of Democratic leadership, McMorris Rodgers is a member of the Committee and the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference.



This legislation is the first national effort to prevent and reduce harmful restraint and seclusion in schools. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office investigation found hundreds of allegations that schoolchildren have been abused, and some even died, as a result of the inappropriate use of restraint and seclusion in classrooms; a disproportionate number of them were children with disabilities. Yet unlike in hospitals, and other medical and community-based facilities that receive federal funding, there are currently no federal policies that prevent the misuse of restraint and seclusion in schools. State regulation and oversight varies greatly; many states provide no guidance or assistance regarding these behavioral interventions.



WHO: U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference

Families of children who have been the victims of harmful restraint and seclusion in classrooms

Additional participants TBA



WHAT: Press Conference to Introduce Legislation to Prevent Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools



WHEN: Wednesday, December 9, 2009

11:00AM EST



WHERE: Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room

2175 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C.



NOTE TO MEDIA: Members of the press interested in attending this event must RSVP to Melissa Salmanowitz at Melissa.Salmanowitz@mail.house.gov or 202-226-0853. Television cameras planning to cover the event must arrive no later than 10:30 am for setup.



This press conference will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website at http://edlabor.house.gov



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