U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today introduced legislation that would, for the first time, protect all children in schools from harmful uses of restraint and seclusion. The legislation embodies principles outlined in a letter U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent to Miller today. U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is also expected to introduce companion legislation today in the Senate. The lawmakers unveiled the bill at a press conference this morning.
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released last spring exposed hundreds of cases of schoolchildren being abused as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion, often involving untrained staff. In some cases, children died. A disproportionate number of these victims were students with disabilities.
Read more, including pictures and video of press conference, here.
Link to full bill.
Fact sheet on the legislation.
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Copy and paste URLs:
Story: http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/12/lawmakers-introduce-bipartisan.shtml
Link to full bill: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/legislation/HR4247Seclusion_Restraint.pdf
Fact sheet on the legislation: http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/12/preventing-harmful-restraint-a.shtml
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