House Approves Bill to Protect Schoolchildren from Harmful Restraint and Seclusion

EDUCATION & LABOR COMMITTEE
Congressman George Miller, Chairman

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Press Office, 202-226-0853

House Approves Bill to Protect Schoolchildren from Harmful Restraint and Seclusion
GAO Found Hundreds of Cases of Students Being Abused Through Inappropriate Uses of Restraint and Seclusion

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a recent government investigation that found widespread allegations that children were being abused through misuses of restraint and seclusion in classrooms, the U.S. House of Representatives today approved bipartisan legislation to protect children from inappropriate uses of these practices in schools. The Keeping All Students Safe Act (H.R. 4247) passed by a vote of 262 to 153.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released last spring exposed hundreds of alleged cases of schoolchildren being abused as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion, often involving untrained staff. The victims were children as young as three and four, students with disabilities and without disabilities, who attended both public and private schools. In a number of cases, children died. In some of the cases GAO investigated, ropes, duct tape, and chairs with straps and bungee cords were used to restrain or isolate young children.

“It’s time to end this nightmare of abuse that has hurt too many students, classmates, families and school communities,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “This bill simply says that every child, in every school, in every state deserves the same basic level of protections that they currently receive in hospitals.”

“I am genuinely pleased by the House’s bipartisan support for H.R. 4247, the Keeping All Students Safe in Schools Act,” said U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), original sponsor of the legislation. “This critical piece of legislation confronts the unimaginable situation in schools across the country whereby some of our nation’s most vulnerable children are treated in an inhumane and degrading manner. The thousands of incidents reported by GAO and others together with the piecemeal approach taken by the states demonstrates the need for federal guidance. I’ve been proud to work with many organizations and this is a victory for them. I thank Chairman Miller for his leadership and my colleagues for their support. Together, we will work to ensure this bill is passed by the Senate.”

Unlike in hospitals and other community-based facilities that receive federal taxpayer dollars, there are currently no federal laws that address how and when restraint and seclusion can be used on children in public and private schools. GAO also found that improperly trained teachers were too often using these practices as frequent discipline.

Seclusion, as the term is used in this context, means the act of involuntarily confining a student in an area by himself. Restraint is used to restrict an individual’s freedom of movement.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Education, state laws on restraint and seclusion vary widely. Nineteen states have no laws at all. Of the 31 states that do have laws in place, many are not comprehensive enough to protect all students, in every kind of school.

The Keeping All Students Safe Act would establish, for the first time, minimum federal standards to provide equal protections to all students, in every state across the country. It would make clear that physical restraint or locked seclusion should be used only when there is imminent danger of injury and only when imposed by trained staff. It would prohibit mechanical restraints, such as strapping children to chairs, misusing therapeutic equipment to punish students or duct-taping parts of their bodies and any restraint that restricts breathing.

It would also prohibit chemical restraint, which are medications used to control behavior that are not consistent with a doctor’s prescription.

The bill would prohibit school staff from including restraint or seclusion as planned interventions in student’s education plans, known as Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). It would also require schools to notify parents immediately after incidents when restraint or seclusion was used.

In many of the cases GAO examined, parents only learned that their child was being restrained or secluded from a whistle-blowing teacher – or when their child came home bruised.

The legislation would also allow states the flexibility to tailor their individual laws based on their needs: It would ask states to have their own laws in place, within two years, that either meet or exceed these basic federal standards.

Chairman Miller’s prepared remarks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJk5Y_KTxjQ

Chairman Miller’s closing remarks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K239Glb77y4

Press release - http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2010/03/houses-approves-bill-to-protec.shtml

Roll call vote - http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll082.xml

APRAIS Responds to CASE

APRAIS responds to the Council for American Private Education letter regarding H.R. 4247/S. 2860.

CASE letter: http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/2010/02/private-school-perspective-house-poised.html
APRAIS letter: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/reports/100301_APRAIS_letter.pdf

Ahead Of House Vote, Private Schools Seek Restraint, Seclusion Exemption

disabilityscoop, March 2, 2010

As the House of Representatives prepares to vote Wednesday on legislation to curb restraint and seclusion in schools, private schools are working to block the bill in a move that’s catching disability advocates by surprise.

In a letter to members of the House, a group representing 80 percent of the country’s private schools said they are concerned that provisions of the bill are too far-reaching and could inhibit a teacher from “breaking up a schoolyard dust-up” or “grabbing a child about to dart into the carpool lane at dismissal.” Further, they say private schools should not be subject to this type of federal oversight.

The group called the Council for American Private Education, or CAPE, is asking members of Congress to oppose the legislation.

Read the complete story here.

*****

Copy and paste URL: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2010/03/02/ahead-of-house-vote-private-schools-seek-restraint-seclusion-exemption/7189/

URGENT FEDERAL BILL NEWS ALERT - The House Votes on Wednesday so we need to make calls on Monday 3/1 and Tuesday 3/2!

URGENT FEDERAL BILL NEWS ALERT - The House Votes on Wednesday so we need to make calls on Monday 3/1 and Tuesday 3/2! Please send this out to all your contacts!!!

ASK CONGRESS: VOTE YES FOR HR 4247, THE PREVENTING HARMFUL RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION IN SCHOOLS ACT!! This week, the House of Representatives will vote on the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (HR 4247). CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE THIS WEEK (MONDAY 3/1 AND TUESDAY 3/2 ARE BEST) AND ASK THEM TO VOTE FOR THE BILL. Dial 202-224-3121 (TTY 202-225-1904) and ask for your Representative’s office. See instructions below. Please get your friends and family to call, too!

1) To Find Out Who Your Congressional Representative is go to http://www.house.gov/ top left side of the page and enter your zip code +4 extra zip numbers. (You can find your +4 numbers on the front of your phone or electric bill next to your zip code) You can call your Representative directly or you can call the switchboard number above and ask them to connect you.

2) Call and ask your Representative to VOTE FOR H.R. 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act. Also tell your Representative to vote against any amendment that would weaken the bill. If you are unable to call due to disability or other reason, send an email on Monday morning. Calls are very important, though. They immediately show that voters want action. When you call or write, be sure to include the bill’s name, “The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act,” and its number (H.R. 4247). Also be sure to include your city or town, so they know you are a constituent. The House of Representatives will vote on the bill this week, so its important to call early in the week.


WHY SUPPORT HR 4247? IT IS AN IMPORTANT BILL THAT WILL PREVENT SCHOOLS FROM USING ABUSIVE TACTICS ON SCHOOL CHILDREN. The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (HR 4247) is a bill that will stop schools from restraining children, confining them in seclusion rooms, and using aversive interventions to harm them. A Government Accountability Office study found hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death from restraint and seclusion in public and private schools over the last two decades. Examples included a 7 year old who died after being held face down for hours by school staff; 5 year olds allegedly being tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape by their teacher and suffering broken arms and bloody noses; and a 13 year old who hanged himself in a seclusion room after prolonged confinement. The majority of students in the GAO study had disabilities.

HR 4247 will create a minimum level of protection for schoolchildren that all states must meet or exceed. Currently, 23 states have laws with weak or no protections. HR 4247 will prohibit restraint and locked seclusion of schoolchildren unless there is an imminent risk of physical injury that less restrictive interventions would not stop. It will forbid using these abusive techniques as punishment and behavior modification, and to deal with educational disruption and the like. Positive behavioral interventions are the appropriate ways to deal with disruptive behavior. HR 4247 is designed to encourage schools to use positive interventions and de-escalation, instead of abusive tactics. The bill prohibits schools from using mechanical and chemical restraints or restraints the impede breathing. Schools must notify parents within 24 hours if their child is restrained or secluded; schools will not be able to hide abuse any more. The bill bans aversives that hurt health and safety, such as using electric shock, forcing foul substances into the mouth, eyes, or nose of children, denying them food, water and access to the bathroom; and similar actions designed to cause severe pain and trauma.

HR 4247 will protect all students, whether in private or public school. Many children with disabilities are placed in private schools by school districts and they should not lose vital health and safety protections. Other parents choose to send their children to private school for religious or other reasons; they should not be forced to give up protections from abuse. When you call, please ask your Representative to vote against any amendment to exclude private schools from the bill.




For more information about the dangers of restraint and seclusion and H.R. 4247, see http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/12/preventing-harmful-restraint-a.shtml and http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/02/myth-vs-fact-preventing-harmfu.shtml


PLEASE FORWARD AND SHARE THIS ALERT BROADLY.

Barbara R. Trader, MS
Executive Director
TASH: Equity, Opportunity, and Inclusion for People with Disabilities Since 1975
1025 Vermont Ave, NW 3rd Floor
Washington , DC 20005
202-540-9013
btrader@tash.org
www.tash.org

Phyllis Musumeci

Parent Advocate/Founder

Families Against Restraint and Seclusion

http://familiesagainstrestraintandseclusion.blogspot.com/

Florida Families Against Restraint and Seclusion

http://floridafamiliesagainstrestraint.blogspot.com/

Department of Education Summary of State Laws, Regulations, Policies, Guidelines on Use of Restraint and Seclusion Techniques in Schools

Access the Department of Education summary of state laws, regulations, policies, guidelines on use of restraint and seclusion techniques in schools here.

U.S. Department of Education
Arne Duncan
Secretary

February 2010
This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Summary of Seclusion and Restraint Statutes, Regulations, Policies and Guidance, by State and Territory: Information as Reported to the Regional Comprehensive Centers and Gathered from Other Sources, Washington, D.C. 2010.

This report includes the descriptive information verified by each state and territory. Additional information can be found at the URLs provided in a specific state profile, or by contacting the state directly. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, enterprise or policy mentioned in this report, on a state’s Web site or other URL included in this
report is intended or should be inferred. All Web addresses consulted or listed within this report were operational as of December 2009, unless otherwise noted.
This report is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site:
www.ed.gov/policy/seclusion/seclusion-state-summary.html.

On request, this document can be made available in accessible formats, such as Braille, large print and computer diskette. For more information, please contact the U.S. Department of Education’s Alternative Format Center at 202-260-0852 or 202-260-0818, or send an e-mail to frank.pacheco@ed.gov.

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Copy and paste URL: http://go.usa.gov/lpQ

February 26, 2010 - Join the National Call-In Day to Prevent Restraint and Seclusion!

Dear Friends,

On behalf of APRAIS (the Alliance to Prevent
Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion), TASH encourages you to contact
your congressional representatives during our National Call-In Day on February
26, 2010 and tell them to support the FEDERAL BILL - Preventing Harmful
Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247, S. 2860).

Recently,
the House Committee on Education and Labor voted H.R. 4247 out of committee with
a vote of 35 to 10. Your hard work has certainly made a difference, but we need
your continued efforts to advance this important legislation. Specifically, we
need your assistance to get the bill moved to the floor for a full House vote
and to obtain Co-sponsors for the Senate version, S. 2860.

Senator Chris
Dodd (D-CT) introduced the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools
Act in the Senate, but we need to increase the number of Senate Co-Sponsors and
get this bill out of committee as soon as possible. Once passed, this
legislation will provide students with and without disabilities vital
protections against abuse in schools.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Ask your Congressional Representative to Co-sponsor H.R. 4247 and your
Senators to Co-Sponsor S. 2860 on Friday, February 26th!!

To find out
the names of your US Senators and Representative, click http://www.blogger.com/www.congress.org

Dial the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the offices of
your US Senators and Representative

Ask to speak to the person working on education issues
Identify
yourself as a constituent and the organization that you represent (if any)

Please also encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to
participate in this important National Call-In!

Message: “I am
calling to urge [your Senator] to cosponsor S.2860, legislation preventing
harmful use of restraint and seclusion in schools.”

Message: “I
am calling to urge [your Representative] to cosponsor H.R. 4247, legislation
preventing harmful use of restraint and seclusion in schools.”

Thank you
for your advocacy. Your action will help increase congressional support for
these bills and move them through the legislative process toward enactment.
Please join the National Call-In Day on Friday, February 26,
2010, and tell your friends and family to join!

Please visit http://aprais.tash.org/ to learn more!

Best Regards,

The APRAIS Coalition

If you called during the last call-in day, and your congressman/senator has shown no action, I'd ask whomever answers the phone to explain to you the congressman's/senator's stand on the issue.

A DRNC Report on School Seclusion and Restraint: February 2010

DRNC, February 2010

This report details DRNC's investigations that show North Carolina public school employees use dangerous face-down restraints on students with disabilities. Government and media reports have shown these prone restraints have been the cause of injuries and even death in students across the country. Accordingly, DRNC strongly opposes the use of these restraints and has joined a national effort to ban the use of these restraints. DRNC encourages school districts in North Carolina to join in this national effort and lead other school districts to protect the lives and welfare of North Carolina's students.

Read the report here.

*****

Copy and paste URL: http://www.disabilityrightsnc.org/pages/249/school-seclusion-and-restraint-prone/%3Cbr%20/%3E

Seclusion-Restraint Bill to Get Senate Committee Hearing

Wisconsin, February 17, 2010

The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on a bill that would restrict schools' ability to use physical restraints and seclusion methods on students.

Parents of students with autism, bipolar disorder, attention deficity hyperactivity disorder, anxiety or depression are most likely to report that their children have been secluded or restrained by school personnel, according to a report released last year on such occurrences in Wisconsin schools.

Read the complete story here.

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Copy and paste URL: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/84525752.html

Group Seek Federal Ban on Pinning Prone Students

North Carolina, February 15, 2010

A disability rights group is asking the state superintendent of schools for a ban on a specific means of student restraint, saying the practice is dangerous and could lead to death.

Disability Rights North Carolina will release a report Tuesday outlining findings of a study into how schools physically restrain students who are acting out. In the report, DRNC suggests a federal ban on the use of "prone restraint," in which students are pinned face-down.

Prone restraint is one of five legal means school employees have for getting students under control, but, the report from DRNC concludes, classroom staff often lack the appropriate training in those techniques.

Read the complete story here.

*****

Copy and paste URL: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/7040560/

Snow Delays Education Department Release Of Restraint, Seclusion Policies

DisabilityScoop, February 12, 2010

A listing of state policies on restraint and seclusion in schools expected Friday from the Department of Education is delayed after snow shut down federal offices in Washington for nearly a week.

The commitment to publicly post a roundup of state laws, regulations, policies and guidelines on restraint and seclusion in schools hearkens back to an appearance before Congress by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in May.

After a Government Accountability Office report found hundreds of cases of abusive and even deadly uses of the disciplinary practices in the nation’s schools, Duncan told Congress, “I want to make sure that at the start of the next school year that every state has a real clear plan as to how to do this in a way that makes sense and that doesn’t jeopardize, doesn’t endanger children.”

Read the rest of the story here.

*****

Copy and paste URL: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2010/02/12/ed-dept-delay-restraint/6993/

Private School Perspective: House Poised to Regulate Private Schools

Council for American Private Education, February 9, 2010

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote soon on legislation governing elements of a school’s disciplinary policy and practice. The House Education and Labor Committee cleared the measure February 4 by a vote of 34 to 10.

The bill (HR 4247), which deals with the seclusion and restraint of students, would affect all public schools as well as private schools whose students or teachers benefit from any federal education program (about 80 percent of Catholic schools, for example). Here are a few of the measure’s troubling provisions:

establishes detailed conditions surrounding the use of physical restraint and seclusion in schools that, ironically, could ultimately serve to harm students (see CAPE’s letter on the bill);
relates to activities as commonplace as holding back two students in a schoolyard scuffle;
requires an undetermined number of private school teachers to have special training and certification in the use of physical restraint and seclusion;
requires annual disaggregated demographic reports on the instances of the use of physical restraint and seclusion in a school.

Read the rest of the article here.
Read CAPE's Letter to the House Education and Labor Committee here.

*****

Copy and paste URLs:
Article: http://www.capenet.org/new.html
CAPE's Letter to the House Education and Labor Committee: http://www.capenet.org/pdf/CAPEHR4247.pdf

Request for Another Hearing Filed in Special Education Lawsuit

Minnesota, February 9, 2010

A federal lawsuit against the Willmar School District isn’t finished yet.

An attorney for a former Willmar student has asked the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear arguments about whether the child may sue the district.

A three-judge panel said in January that Jackie Nelson, the child’s mother, did not have a valid claim against the school district.

The judges said that Nelson should have filed a complaint before she transferred her child to another district. Since she complained later, she no longer had a valid claim to seek compensatory educational services for her child, according to the panel’s opinion filed in January.

Read the rest of the story here.

*****

Copy and paste URL: http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/63411/

Clarification, Answer Your Questions Regarding Misuse and Abuse of Restraint and Seclusion

February 8, 2010

There seems to be some confusion as to what is going on regarding state and federal law/policy as it applies to the misuse and abuse of seclusion and restraint. Maybe these links will help explain some of the misunderstandings.

STATE

Current statute in Missouri: http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/2009/11/current-statutes-in-missouri.html

Update on situation in Missouri: http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/2010/02/update-but-not-much-progress-at-state.html

Please read the minutes from the November 2009 DESE meeting and you will see that even in Missouri, representatives from SSD and Touchpoint agree with the definitions and reasons for restraint and seclusion, similar, yet somewhat more restrictive than what's in the currently proposed federal bill.

FEDERAL

HR 4247 w/ amendments: http://edlabor.house.gov/markups/2010/02/preventing-harmful-restraint-a.shtml

HR 4247 Basics: http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/12/preventing-harmful-restraint-a.shtml

Myths and facts: http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/02/myth-vs-fact-preventing-harmfu.shtml

Supporters: http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/01/supporters-of-the-preventing-h.shtml

NEW PUBLICATIONS

TASH: http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/2010/02/tash-releases-survey-results-on.html

NDRN: http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/2010/02/school-is-not-supposed-to-hurt-update.html

I encourage you all to voice your opinions and concerns to your legislators, but please research and understand the facts before you do so.

Ange Hemmer
Missouri: Families Against Seclusion and Restraint

Blog: http://nomoseclusion.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Missouri-Families-Against-Seclusion-and-Restraint/192579456768
Twitter: @nomoseclusion

Press Release: Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Abuse in Schools Clears House Committee

UNITED STATES CONGRESS

Thursday, February 4, 2010
Melissa Salmanowitz (Miller) 202.226.0853
Todd Weiner (McMorris Rodgers) 202.225.2006

Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Abuse in Schools Clears House Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee today passed bipartisan legislation to make classrooms safer for students and school staff by preventing the misuse of restraint and seclusion. The Committee passed the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247) by a vote of 34 to 10.

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. In some of the cases GAO investigated, ropes, duct tape, chairs with straps and bungee cords were used to restrain or isolate young children.

“This bill makes clear that there is no place in our schools for abuse and torture,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “The egregious abuse of a child should not be considered less criminal because it happens in a classroom -- it should be the opposite. I’m proud that this bill has bipartisan support and I hope the full House will vote on it soon.”

“I’m pleased that H.R. 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, was reported out of Committee today. This is a victory for students, parents, families, educators, and advocates who have worked tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of children in schools,” said 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. “When I send my son Cole to school, I send him with the expectation that he is safe from danger. Yet, there have been hundreds of cases in which schoolchildren were harmed as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion. Our bill is a long stride forward in ensuring that our tax dollars are not used to abuse children. I look forward to working with Chairman Miller and my colleagues to pass this bill through Congress this year, and have it signed into law.”

Unlike in hospitals and other medical and community-based facilities that receive federal health funding, there are currently no federal laws addressing restraint and seclusion in schools. While the Children’s Health Act of 2000 regulates how and when restraint and seclusion can be used on children in these other settings, this bill would cover schools for the first time. State regulation and oversight varies greatly; many states provide no guidance or assistance regarding these behavioral interventions.

The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act will, for the first time, put in place minimum safety standards to prevent abusive restraint and seclusion in schools across the country, similar to protections already in place in medical and community based facilities. After two years, states will need to have their own policies in place to meet these minimum standards. It would apply to public schools, private schools and preschools receiving federal education support.

Specifically the legislation would:
· Limit physical restraint and locked seclusion, allowing these interventions only when there is imminent danger of injury, and only when imposed by trained staff;
· Outlaw mechanical restraints, such as strapping kids to chairs, and prohibit restraints that restrict breathing;
· Require schools to notify parents after incidents when restraint or seclusion was used;
· Encourage states to provide support and training to better protect students and prevent the need for emergency behavioral interventions; and
· Increase transparency, oversight and enforcement tools to prevent future abuse.

The legislation embodies principles outlined by the Obama administration in December. It has the support of nearly 100 organizations, including the National School Boards Association, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers. See a full list of supporters here: http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/01/supporters-of-the-preventing-h.shtml

Miller first requested the GAO investigation in January 2009, after the National Disability Rights Network released a report highlighting these abuses.

For more information about the bill, click here.

To learn more about definitions in the bill, click here.

To learn more about the myths/facts in regards to this bill, click here.

School Restraint, Seclusion Bill Clears House Committee

The House Education and Labor Committee voted Thursday to pass the bill known as the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act by a vote of 34 to 10. Now, the measure must be considered by the full House and it must be taken up in the Senate before it can become law.

YouTube video -- H.R. 4247 - Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act: G... http://youtu.be/dADmiyJNU34?a

DisabilityScoop story: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2010/02/04/restraint-bill-house-committee/6902/

Kline Statement (unfavorable): Markup of H.R. 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act: http://twurl.nl/qffk7u

More to come...

Time Sensitive: Help Needed on Federal Bill

URGENT - Your help is needed on the federal bill!

Dear Advocates,

Trouble looms with the minority members on the Education and Labor Committee regarding the Seclusion and Restraints Bill that is scheduled for mark up tomorrow morning. Please call the Republican Committee members below tomorrow morning Thursday 02/04/2010 and ask them to please support the Restraint and Seclusion Bill (H.R. 4247).

Please pass this information on to other advocates, friends and family members and ask them to please help make calls tomorrow morning.

John Kline (Minnesota)
Washington, D.C. Office
1210 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2271
Fax: (202) 225-2595

Michael Castle (Delaware)
Washington Office 1233 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
p: 202.225.4165
f: 202.225.2291

Brett Guthrie (Kentucky)
Washington, DC Office
510 Cannon H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3501
Fax: (202) 226-2019

Bill Cassidy (Louisiana)
Washington DC Office
506 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3901
Fax: (202) 225-7313

Vernon Ehlers (Michigan)
Washington Office
2182 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
voice (202) 225-3831
fax (202) 225-5144

Judy Biggert (Illinois)
Washington, DC Office
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3515
Fax: 202-225-9420

Thank you!

Regards,

Phyllis Musumeci
Parent Advocate and mom to Christian
Families Against Restraint and Seclusion

Rep. Joe Courtney: Congress Must Make Schools Safe Havens for Children

February 3, 2010

In 1998, the Hartford Courant earned a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories on the use of restraint and seclusion tactics on students with disabilities in treatment facilities. The tales of children who were injured, or in some cases, died, shocked parents and educators across the country. As a parent of two, I was among those who were horrified. While previous Congresses passed legislation to reduce this abuse in treatment facilities, no federal laws were ever created to protect children from dangerous physical restraint in schools.

In 2009, the House Committee on Education and Labor, of which I am a member, held hearings on the use of seclusion and restraint. The testimony we heard from various experts was disturbing and signaled that Congress must act expeditiously to end once and for all seclusion and restraint. The most powerful testimony came from parents whose children were killed or severely injured as a result of dangerous restraint techniques.

In response to those stories, and the countless cases in which children have been injured or died, Education and Labor Chairman George Miller introduced the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act. I am a proud cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, which I believe will accomplish a number of important goals.

Read the rest of Rep. Courtney's post here.

If you are interested in talking more with Mr. Courtney about this bill, please contact Brian Farber (Deputy Chief of Staff/Communications Director) at brian.farber@mail.house.gov

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Copy and paste URL here: http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2010/02/rep-joe-courtney-congress-must.shtml

The Story Behind the Bill: Rep. Miller Finds School Discipline too Extreme

Washington D.C., February 2, 2010

Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247 — Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.): a bill that would prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint and seclusion in schools.

Status: Referred to the House Education and Labor Committee’s Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education subcommittee, Jan. 4.

Curtis Decker, the executive director of the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), remembers when he first heard about children being secluded and restrained in schools. The parents of an American Indian girl with Down syndrome found out their daughter was being tied to her chair at school when they went to pick her up one day.

That was six or seven years ago, Decker recalled, and he and his staff discussed it in a meeting as an isolated case.

Then they started hearing other, similar stories. School employees sat on a girl in Wisconsin as a punishment for blowing bubbles in her milk. A child in Michigan had an epileptic seizure on the first day of school and died after school officials sat on him. A school in Tennessee had metal-door-enclosed seclusion rooms that looked like “prison cells from World War II,” NDRN senior staff attorney Jane Hudson said.

Read the full post here.

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Copy and paste URL: http://thehill.com/component/content/article/705-the-story-behind-the-bill/79349-the-story-behind-the-bill-rep-miller-finds-school-discipline-too-extreme

Letter Regarding H.R. 4247/ S. 2860

I write many letters, copy and pasting from different information and past letters. On occasion (i.e., when I have time and/or remember!) I try to post some of my personal letters here so that anyone can take whatever information they need to make advocating for this issue easier.

I am a parent of a child who experienced the misuse of seclusion and restraint in public school and founder of Missouri: Families Against Seclusion and Restraint.

I encourage you to take H.R. 4247/ S. 2860 The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act seriously as a federal issue and responsibility. The states are failing. Children are not safe. Until recently, Missouri had no laws guiding restraint and seclusion. The law passed in 2009 only bans placing a child in a locked room and does not address restraint. Otherwise it loosely mandates that the local school districts develop their own policies that address “the use of restrictive behavioral interventions as a form of discipline or behavior management technique” but does NOT require data collecting, reporting, monitoring, or accountability. There has also been state legislation introduced (HB 1543) that allows “use of force to protect persons or property”, yet there are no definitions or restrictions. This same bill does not allow Children’s services to conduct an investigation until the school district conducts its own investigation and, then, only if the school district finds itself liable for abuse.

My son Zach was denied appropriate evaluations, services and accommodations for months after transition from preschool to kindergarten. Shortly after he turned 6 years old it was clear he was suffering and not coping well with lack of support. Out of confusion, desperation, misguidance, and lack of information, Zach’s father and I agreed to allow restraint and seclusion in the crisis plan of Zach’s behavioral intervention plan. We were assured that it would never be used unless there was imminent harm to himself or others.

He was restrained and secluded three times in one day for behaviors such as squeezing his paraprofessional’s hand. We was also placed in the seclusion room quiet for no documented reason and left in there 20 minutes. I was unaware of how the room was being used until I requested logs. I was shocked at what I read and immediately demanded that seclusion and restraint be removed from his education plan. He was placed in the seclusion room at least one more time after that request. Due to continued and repeated failure to support Zach, we are now homeschooling Zach and his 6 year old brother.

I do not believe a system's failure is justification to abuse or mistreat individuals, especially those with disabilities. I encourage you to support this legislation and also suggest the following changes:

• The bill should not only apply to locked seclusion but to situations where children are forced into other spaces from which they cannot exit. A door may be unlocked but blocked by furniture or a teacher may be holding it shut, which is the case when my son was placed in a seclusion room at 6 years old.
• The bill should also protect a child’s entire body against harmful restraint, including restraints to the chest, abdomen, or other body parts that don’t affect the arms, legs, and head (e.g., prone and supine restraint).

Also, please DO NOT remove the section where it is prohibited to include restraint or seclusion as planned interventions in student’s education plans, including Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). These procedures are NOT interventions, but proof of failed treatment.

Please respond with your viewpoint and intentions. If you require any further information, please contact me; I would love to discuss this serious issue with you regarding the abuse of children in our schools.

Sincerely,

Ange Hemmer

School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Update on Progress in 2009 to Prevent and Reduce Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

February 2, 2010

Please read the NDRN report here (PDF).

A couple of clarifications

NDRN states that "Missouri allows the use of restraint and seclusion only to ensure the immediate physical safety of the student or others" (p. 4); however, the law only states that locking a student in a confined space is not allowed unless waiting for law enforcement in emergency situation. While this meets the current federal definition of seclusion, it does not prohibit blocking a door, holding a student into a confined space, or otherwise preventing a student from leaving a confined area. Restraint is not regulated at the state level at all, again left up to the school districts already failing in this area to define and regulate. Please note that if MO HB1543 passes with the vague "use of force to protect persons or property" language, things are about to get much worse for students in Missouri, so please contact your Representatives--especially if you have a story of misused restraint (force)--to prevent this language from staying in the bill.

The committee creating the model policy did somewhat agree to the above NDRN statement (see meeting minutes), but school districts are not mandated to adopt any or all of the model policy once it is developed.

The NDRN report also states that "The final version of the law, while not banning the use of restraint and seclusion rooms outright, does require restrictions on use and requires accountability" (p. 46). I am unaware of any accountability tied to this law, other than schools must have a policy or they are out of compliance. Especially since this law is tied to the Safe Schools Act, there's no recourse a family can take if their child is inappropriately restrained/secluded (unless the door is mechanically locked).

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Copy and paste URL: http://www.ndrn.org/sr/srjan10/Schoo-%20is-Not-Supposed-to-Hurt-(NDRN).pdf